Falling Grace
by Cheyenna
Summary: Kora was a normal girl, living a normal life, and having just graduated. However, things turn from best to worst when she's kidnapped by an unknown enemy. Having being rescued by the two most unlikely characters, Sahale and Avalon, she must stop the evil.
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

Today a group of unique races gathered in a large cave that leads underground. They sat around a rather large table. "Greetings," the head of the table greeted them. "I've called you here today because I have a plan." He rested his elbows on the table, folding his hands together under his chin. "We're taking over the world."

The first to interrupt was a female vampire, older than even the head of the table. "That's madness, Kane," she argued.

"Is it, Sahale?" he questioned with a smug expression. "We've lived far longer than those humans, and you call it madness? What's madness is that they've driven us into hiding!" There were nods and murmurs of agreement around the table. Sahale became silent.

"What do you plan to do, exactly?" an elf asked. He wasn't like any typical elf, but what some call a drow. His skin was dark, like a smoky black, and his eyes were silver. He was known as Adanion.

Kane simply smiled an evil looking smile, his fangs exposed. His eyes were dark as if he could see the bloody massacre that was to happen very soon.


	2. Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

"Kora Semele," the principal called her name. Excitedly, she popped up and walked gracefully to the stage. She wished she could run; she's been waiting for this day since preschool. But what kid wasn't, right? She pranced up the steps with a glamorous smile and met him at the center of the stage. He shook her hand and gave her the diploma. The crowd cheered for her as she waved and took the microphone.

"Thank you!" she interrupted the applause. "Thank you for having me here at this wonderful school, for teaching me everything I know, and preparing me for adulthood." She scanned the crowd, smiling. She met the eyes of as many teachers as she could before turning to the principal, and then her mother, the vice principal. "Without any of you, I would not have been able to grow, to learn my skills, improve them," she trailed off. "I will not forget this school and the wonderful faculty that works here and keeps it running." She paused before stepping away. "Thank you," she said again simply. Again, the crowd cheered as she hugged her mom before walking back to her seat.

_The highlight of my life_, she thought to herself smugly. _Finally out of school, only to go to college where I can party and meet cute boys_. "Way to go," her friend, Sally, complimented. They high fived as the principal droned on with other students' names.

After the graduation ceremony ended, Sally and Kora were invited to a party. They slapped another high five and got in Kora's car. "This is going to be sick," Sally giggled. "Wonder how much beer they're going to bring to this one." She lit a cigarette.

"More than there was after prom," Kora said knowingly. "It's going to rock. I'm going to have such a hangover tomorrow." She was driving down a road through part of the forest that had been cleared. "Wonder when they're knocking the rest of this crap down," she said, taking a hit from her friend's cigarette. The sun was starting to set as they continued on.

"Who knows," Sally answered. "But the sooner the better." She flicked her cigarette out the window. "We should stop at my place so we can get into some good clothes."

"Yeah," Kora agreed, turning off the main road. There was a shortcut she knew about that lead to her friend's neighborhood. It was just harder to see in the darkness. The car rocked from side to side as she drove over the trail. Then they hit something big and the car stopped. "What the hell?" Kora climbed out of her car and walked around to the front. The headlights were fine, everything was fine. There was nothing there. Kora looked around, totally spooked.

"What was it?" Sally asked, slamming her door shut before meeting her in front of the car.

"I don't know," Kora answered quietly. "But we should go." She tried to sound normal so her friend wouldn't make fun of her. "Or we'll miss the party."

Nearby a few bushes shuddered. The girls looked around, but couldn't see anything. "Dammit, why is it so dark?" Sally asked, annoyed.

"We're in the woods, remember?" Kora responded sarcastically, like it would make things seem less eerie. It didn't.

There was a sudden movement that caught her eye. "We should—" she was cut off as something hit her in the back of the head. She crashed to the ground, wincing at the pain as rocks poked and stabbed at her side. She looked around dizzily and saw her friend fall next to her. Everything faded black.

"Wake up, human." The words made Kora's head pound as she came to.

"What…?" She sat up slowly and forced her eyes open, squinting. It was dark. "Where am I?" she asked, not all there.

"No need to answer that," the voice said smugly. "These are going to be your last few hours of life. Better enjoy them." Kora was pulled up roughly and thrown into a clump of people. What was going on? Why did he call her human? What did he mean, 'last few hours of life'? "Go!" the voice yelled. There was another shove and the people started moving as a crowd toward a sliver of light. It widened as a door was opened for them. She looked back, but didn't see the man who had been speaking.

As the group filed into the next room, things she had never seen before came into view. There were tall beings with big alien-like eyes and pointed ears staring at her. Their skin was blue and their hair looked like different shades of red and orange. She noticed they had something like wings attached to their backs. _Are they faeries?_ They didn't look anything like what the story books portrayed them as. She felt vulnerable here. "Welcome, humans," another voice said gently. She looked up, noticing a throne with a sexy looking man sitting there. His smile turned obnoxious. "Filthy, useless, weak humans," he spat.

Standing, he grabbed a black cane and started walking down the steps. "Today is your lucky day," he continued, smiling once again. "For once, you'll be of use. You'll be our meal." He reached the group and held out his cane. The tip pointed at a shivering girl. She looked up at him with terrified eyes and he smirked, disgusted. "You're first, darling." His eyes weren't kind, unlike his voice.

"Kane." Kora looked to the side of the room where an unusually tall woman stood. _No_, Kora thought. _Not woman; a thing_. Her stomach was in knots. "This isn't necessary."

"What is wrong with you?" the male snapped back. _His name must be Kane_. "Why can you not accept that this is the best option for us? We're going extinct! Forced into hiding!" There were cheers of agreement around the room. Kora looked around as they pumped their fists in the air or hissed at the group. She felt very scared, and she noticed that Sally wasn't with her. Her heart pounded. "And these disgusting humans are ruining our land! Killing our sources for survival!" Kane hissed as he continued, pointing his cane in the group's direction. "How can you side with them, you traitor!"

"The plan won't work!" the female cried out. Kora noticed her long, pointed canines. Vampire?

"Dammit, Sahale," he roared furiously. "Out of my sight! I want you gone!"

Kora glanced at the door they had come through out of the corner of her eye. It was still open; unguarded. But why? Were they confident they could catch them before they escaped? She had to try. Either way she would die, but at least she could take the chance for survival. She looked at the rest of the group. They all seemed healthy enough to run with her.

"No!" the female defied him. "You will not harm them!" She hissed wildly and the creatures around the room reacted equally, baring their teeth and hunching as if she were their prey and they were going for the kill.

Kora touched as many hands as she could and tipped her head toward the door while their captors were distracted. The message spread around quickly. She just had to wait for a good distraction. Please, God, let this work, she thought to herself, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath.

"Sahale!" Kane roared, dragging her name out with anger. He rushed to meet her and as soon as he was only a few feet away from the female, Kora took her chances, scared out of her mind. She started running as fast as she could and the others followed. The only problem was, they were just as caught off guard as the rest of them. Creatures around the room turned toward the group and hissed, running after them. She heard screaming, slaughtering, roars of anger; she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and pressed herself to go faster. She had no idea where the entrance was, but she planned to get there. She wasn't going to die, not after she just graduated from high school. No, she wanted to live. _I have to live!_

Across the room where she woke in, she could see another light. She ran with a hope like no other she had ever felt in her entire life. "Please be it!" she panted, pushing at the door. It swung open slowly, inch by inch. She pressed her whole body against it and kept pushing, gritting her teeth. Once it opened enough, she squeezed her body through and continued running. Sadly, it was only a room with a large table in the center. Her disappointment only lasted a few short moments as she continued and tried the door at the other side. This one opened more easily as she slid out. The floor was starting to become rock. Joy splintered at her fear. She panted and climbed as it became steep. _Please, please, please_, she begged God silently, sweating.

She reached the top after what felt like an eternity. "Oh, God, thank you," she breathed, pulling herself over the edge. She sat on her knees for several moments, panting and thanking God that she wasn't dead yet. _Where's my car?_ She recognized the surrounding even though she never noticed the gaping hole that was in the mountain side whenever she'd driven by. She stood and stumbled over rocks, jogging. If only she could find her car and drive away. Then she could go home and hope that she would see her friend again. _Sally, you better be alive_, she thought as if her friend could read her mind from some great distance, however far away she was.

But a tree shook above her. "No, no, no," Kora panted. She closed her eyes and slid down on her hands and knees. "God, no."

Something dropped down in front of her. She could hear it purr. A pair of leathered feet stopped in front of her. She started to look up, but whatever it was grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her up. She screamed and glared at whatever was holding her. But her eyes widened a little instead, as she was less intimidating than this thing.

"Looks like I got lucky today," the female purred, exposing her sharp canines. _Another vampire?_ Kora panted, wishing to God she could have escaped. "Tell me, scrumptious," the woman said after a moment of inhaling Kora's scent. "What were you doing in the Elder's cave?" Her head was cocked to the side, her blue eyes curious. But they weren't just blue; they were aqua blue, and very hypnotizing. Kora stared into them, and even though she felt terrified, words slid out of her mouth with ease, sounding fairly calm.

_So she's not with them_, Kora noted mentally. "They were going to eat us," she informed the woman. Her eyes never left Kora's. "I escaped."

"They?" the vampire asked, loosening her grip on Kora's hair. "Who?"

"Vampires. Other blue creatures with wings." Kora sounded monotone to herself; maybe dead. But her heart was pounding a mile a second as if to say otherwise.

The vampire seemed to lose interest in eating her. Instead she wanted more information. "You're coming with me, scrumptious." Kora felt like it was her new pet name.

But instead of walking into the woods, they started walking toward the cave. Kora wasn't in any trance anymore as she tried to jerk away. "No! No! Don't take me back in there!" She cried hopelessly. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Avalon?" a familiar voice called. Kora opened her eyes. The female from inside was standing before them. She must have just left the cave.

"Sahale!" the vampire dropped Kora and greeted the female as if they were old friends. "What's going on in there?"

Sahale didn't answer her friend's question and looked at Kora instead. Chills ran up Kora's spine as the female's gaze held her own. "Is this the survivor?"

"It appears that she is," Avalon answered. Sahale seemed to be studying Kora's body.

"Human," she said, snapping Kora's attention back to her eyes. "Were you the first to run?"

Kora was hesitant for obvious reasons, but nodded. Barely.

"You were smart," Sahale commented. "Everyone else died."

Kora's heart sank. _Everyone? What about Sally? What happened to her?_ "So?" Avalon prodded, grabbing Sahale's attention once again. "What's going on in there?"

"I'll answer that later. Right now we need to leave."


	3. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Contrary to what Kora had been hoping for, Avalon had made sure to grab her as they left the cave entrance. "Why do you need me?" Kora asked with a raised and slightly panicked voice. "What about my car?"

"Car?" Avalon purred, turning to Kora. Suddenly her stomach was churning with nervousness.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the three were speeding down the gravel trail with Avalon behind the wheel. Kora was feeling sick from all the bumping and rocking. She held on tightly to the seat and squeezed her eyes shut. She'd never seen someone drive so recklessly in her entire life. "Where are we going?" she asked loudly, wind from the open windows whipping her hair around her face.

"It won't be long now," Sahale said as she tried to calm her. With that the car jerked to a sudden halt. Kora's body was sent forward until it hit the seat in front of her.

"Oww..." she complained as she held onto her chest.

"Let's walk from here," Avalon murmured before getting out of the car. Kora pouted as she sat back. She thought about climbing into the front seat and driving off, but she doubted she could even hit the gas petal before one of the women realized what she was doing and dragged her out. Her pout turned into a scowl. It was already dark outside; her mom had to be worried about her by now. She slowly climbed out of the car and stood there. Avalon looked back at her with raised eyebrows. "Well?"

"I'm coming," Kora muttered as she dragged herself toward them.

They had only been walking for ten minutes or so until they reached a tree house. It had been hidden well behind shrubbery and a few trees. At least, the outside looked like it was any old, ordinary tree house until they stepped inside. Kora was slightly taken aback as she realized that the tree house led inside a tree where a stairway was. "Let's go," Sahale said quietly before leading the other two downstairs.

"I've never seen anything like it," Kora noted in awe.

"Of course you haven't," Avalon scoffed. "You're just a human."

"And you're a flesh eating vampire," Kora shot back with a glare.

Avalon turned on her and smiled, exposing her canines easily. Kora became slightly uneasy.

"That's enough," Sahale interrupted as she reached the last step.

The two turned and faced the room. Kora blinked in surprise as the walls looked like a smooth wood, like the furnishing. The colors of the room reminded her of autumn; yellow, orange, and brown. It was like a one room apartment, minus a kitchen and a bathroom. Although there was a table with two chairs, a loveseat, and a small cot. There were also books stacked on the floor around the loveseat. She wondered how many books Sahale had read in her whole life.

"Is it true?" Kora asked suddenly as she became interested in Sahale's lifestyle. "That you're immortal."

Sahale sat on the loveseat, folding her hands in her lap and meeting Kora's gaze. "Yes, it's true." She reminded Kora of a queen. She was so elegant, so independent, and she had a calming force about her, monster or not. She also had the beauty any queen would be expected to have. Her hair was midnight black, but in the light it looked as if she had blue streaks in her hair. Her skin was smooth looking; very fair, and her lips were red as blood. Most of all, her eyes were interesting and unusual. The right eye was aqua blue, like Avalon's eyes, but the left eye was emerald green.

"Then," Kora started, fiddling her thumbs. "How old are you?"

Sahale smiled, but not enough to show her wicked fangs. "I've lost track. I was turned in five thousand B.C."

Kora's eyes widened. "No way. You're so old." She was truly amazed and nearly forgot herself.

"I was turned some time in nine hundred A.D," Avalon cut in, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Kora turned to study her next. She didn't look as frightening when she wasn't holding Kora by her hair. She reminded Kora somewhat of some kind of barbarian princess, or maybe native princess because she had light tan skin with tribal looking tattoos that covered her arms, and as far as Kora could tell her chest, stomach, and back were also covered. They might even run down her legs. Her hair wasn't so elegant, but was tied back in some way in dreads and was red, like her leather outfit. Kora felt that if they ever followed her into town, they wouldn't fit in at all.

"How old are you guys?" Kora asked next. "Like, human age."

"I'm sixteen," Sahale admitted. Kora's eyes couldn't get any wider. Sahale looked like she was in her twenties and she was far more mature than any sixteen year old Kora knew.

"Twenty-one," Avalon said simply, picking at her nails. That was more believable. "You're young too?"

"I'm eighteen. I just had my graduation ceremony today," Kora replied. "And I'd like to keep aging, thank you."

Avalon rolled her eyes. "Like I'd want you around for another century."

That struck a nerve. "How do you die?" Kora asked Avalon directly, her eyes turning cold.

"I can't believe that woman," Kane growled, slamming his hands on the table. "What is she thinking?"

"I don't understand it either," Adanion murmured, sitting a few chairs away. He had his fingers against his chin as he thought. The elf that sat beside him, Calanon, was silent as he watched Kane release his fury by throwing his chair across the room. Others around the table ducked and hissed. Calanon hid his hands under the table as he clenched his teeth, curling his fingers until his hands were balled into fists. He knew that Miss Sky was right about the plan being wrong. How could Kane ignore the consequences?

"Still," a dwarf said gruffly, running his fingers through his long beard. "She has a point about your kind."

Kane's eyes narrowed. "Not if we rely on the blood the dwarves have to offer."

The dwarf became silent once again. His eyes never left Kane, showing a hatred that interested Calanon. "When the dwarves die off, then where will you turn for blood?" Adanion asked with humor in his tone. "We certainly don't look very appetizing."

"We will when they're starving," Calanon cut in quietly. Still, he held Kane's gaze.

"Are we all on Sahale's side now?" Kane asked fiercely. "She is wrong!" He pounded his fists on the table, reminding Calanon of a child throwing a tantrum. Still, those who sat around the table were quiet. "Must I remind you," he began with a shaking voice, "what these humans have done to us?" His voice rose. "They've taken our land, killed our resources!" Calanon saw vengeance spreading around the table as there were hisses from other creatures. "Yet they're not satisfied with taking the land, but now they must also kill it!" The elves and faeries in particular began to nod and murmur in agreement. Calanon narrowed his eyes. How dare they be taken over so easily with this foolishness.

"We will kill every last one of those damned things!" Kane shouted, standing tall and proud. "We will take back what is ours and restore it!" The table went wild with shouts of agreement. Kane met Calanon's eyes and smiled bitterly. "We will rise above. We will be the gods that we once were." Calanon held in his growl of bitterness.

"So what do we do with Sahale?" Adanion questioned.

"We get rid of her," Kale said with a smile of pure pleasure. He might have purred at the thought of tearing her apart limb by limb.

"She has Avalon with her as well," an elf at the table added, his eyes resting on Kane unblinkingly. "And a human who escaped last night."

"Then we kill them too," Kane snapped. "How did the human escape?"

"She was the first to run." The elf swallowed some. He'd been the one to push that same human into the group of people.

"And nobody stopped her?" Kane snarled angrily. "Just a human and none of you could catch her?" His eyes dulled again and he stood up straight again. "That's fine. Track her. Kill her." He thought again. "No… Bring the human to me. I will have the pleasure of feeding on her in front of Sahale." He smiled darkly. "That will be your job, Antien."

Kora sighed, closing her eyes as she snuggled into her blankets. Finally, after all the hysteria, she could relax and go to sleep. The two vampires had finally let her go after she had angered Avalon, nearly causing her own death. She was thankful that Sahale had stepped in and sent her home. But the problem was, she didn't know when they would come back for her. She hoped to God they didn't ever come back.


	4. Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning, Kora woke with a start, panting heavily. After everything that had happened yesterday, she had to have a nightmare about Avalon of all things. At first, she was dreaming that she was in a room with only windows. She never spotted as much as a nanometer of wall or even a door. The sun was about to rise. And suddenly, that same man as before was there behind her, smiling, breathing deeply. "Tasty," she remembered him murmuring. He launched for her, but at that moment, as she shrieked and pulled away, he was gone; disappeared into nothing. As she opened her eyes, slowly returning to stand properly, she heard a crash behind her and turned, but Avalon took her down at that moment and she shrieked, sitting up in bed.

"You okay?" her mother asked, peeking into the room. "I heard you scream."

"I'm fine," Kora said a little breathlessly. _Get over yourself_, she thought, annoyed_. It was only a dream._

She got ready like any other morning, as if it were a school day, but she didn't have to grab her bag and go out the door. She found herself lost on what she should do. "Find a job," her mom suggested on her way out. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

Kora rolled her eyes. "Yeah right," she muttered.

An hour later she was on the couch with a soda and a pencil, filling out college applications. The phone rang and she reached past her paperwork and grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Hey," her boyfriend greeted.

"Hey," she replied excitedly. "What's up?"

"I didn't see you at the party last night." He sounded disappointed.

"Oh…There's a good explanation." Even though she said that, she knew she couldn't tell him what really happened. She felt stuck.

"It's cool." He saved her the trouble of thinking of an excuse. "Let's just go out today."

"Okay, just let me…" she trailed off as static cut in. "Hey, can you hear me?"

"You're...up…" his voice cut in and out. Then he hung up and her ear was greeted by the annoying sound of the dial tone.

"What the hell…" She pulled the phone away and looked at it. Shrugging, she hung up and pulled out her cell phone and tried to call him back. No answer. She put her phone back and pushed her work aside before standing up.

"Hey, sis," her brother walked in the front door, taking a bite of an apple he had.

"What are you doing home?" She rested her hands on her hips and looked at him. "You're supposed to be at your summer job."

"I felt sick." He smirked and walked past her to his room.

"Jonathan," she called for him. "The phone is acting weird."

"Not my problem," he called back.

Kora snorted softly and grabbed her shoes, slipping them on and walking out the door. Thank God for summer. She decided to drive down to her boyfriend's house. _Michael, you better be okay_, she couldn't help but think. Last night's events were taking their toll on her as she thought about Sally's disappearance and her own near-death experience. Kora gripped the wheel as the possibilities rolled into her imagination, one after another. Tortured, eaten, blood getting sucked. _No, they have to be alive. Michael is fine, Sally is fine._

Suddenly there was a flash before the car and Kora slammed on her breaks. Luckily she was on a back road with no cars behind her own or she might have killed someone. She closed her eyes and took a breath, thanking God.

"Hey there." The voice made her jump as she turned toward the door. Avalon was smirking with her hands pressed against the window. Kora's heart was beating rapidly already and now it skipped several beats.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she asked angrily, rolling her window down.

"It _would_ be nice if you _did_ die," Avalon mused with a purr.

"Enough," Sahale's voice cut in. The vampire got in the passenger seat. "Where are you speeding off to?"

Kora looked at the two. They were both still in the same clothes as last night. "Were you following me?" she asked angrily.

"Your friend is still missing, scrumptious," Avalon said, ignoring Kora's anger. "We need to find her."

"I'm checking on my boyfriend first," Kora said, putting her car back into drive. Just as she hit the gas petal, Avalon was slamming her door shut. "And what are you doing in town? You don't fit in at all."

"We don't exactly have the essential attire," Sahale commented calmly.

Kora decided she would have to lend them her clothes, since they wouldn't be leaving any time soon. "What do you want from me? I know you don't want to help me."

"On the contrary, we do," Sahale interrupted, looking serious. "Do you know why you were stolen and almost eaten?"

"No. I thought vampires regularly did that sort of thing," Kora answered, rolling her eyes. "Like a hobby or something."

"But do they always have faeries, dwarves, and elves around?" Avalon asked.

Kora had wondered about that herself last night. "None of them look like what I thought they would. I think I only saw the faeries and vampires last night."

The two were quiet. "Kane is around Avalon's age," Sahale finally began. "He's power hungry and wants revenge on the human race."

"Revenge…" Kora remembered how he'd been so disgusted with the group. How he'd mentioned that humans were ruining everything. "Because the human race is responsible for the races losing land?"

"Land, resources, being forced into hiding," Avalon listed.

"But it's not all the human race's fault," Sahale informed Kora. "We let them take our land. We could have fought back and killed them off back then."

"And why didn't you?" Kora asked.

"Do you think vampires would exist today without humans?"

Kora thought for a moment. "Animals?"

"Sure, if you'd like to think there were actually vampires like the _Cullens_," Avalon mused. "Animals aren't what we're into."

"That's true," Sahale approved, though obviously that wouldn't have been her word choice. "The truth is, we need humans to survive. When the blood supply runs low, we will die out." She paused. "Or we'll be driven to kill each other for any last remaining sources of food."

"The other races would have plenty of reason to do it, right? They don't care if vampires disappear," Kora commented. She focused on the road as they conversed.

Sahale shook her head. "Not likely."

Kora's expression became confused. "Why not?"

"Vampires aren't the only ones who need blood," Avalon explained. "So do faeries. They're just more brutal about how they get it." Kora shivered at the thought. "The drows prefer blood if they want something sweet too."

"Drows?" Kora asked.

"They're like elves, but with dark skin and usually white hair. They prefer blood magic over olden, good, normal elf magic. You know, that boring stuff." Avalon smirked. She was leaning forward between the two front seats. Having her so close made Kora feel slightly uncomfortable. Like there was an itchy sensation all over her skin, as if spiders could be crawling all over her body. The thought disgusted her.

"The dwarves are different though?" Kora guessed. There were absolutely no stories of them drinking blood. To her, they were like short people with beards and bushy eyebrows, complete with gruff voices and battle axes.

"That's correct," Sahale complimented. "But they do have to worry about their land being destroyed. As of late, they've moved underground."

"Though the vampires are still something they should fear. Vampires could rely on other races for food before they even think about turning to animals," Avalon explained further.

Kora turned down another street, slowing as there was some traffic here. "So they'll be the first of the races to die before the vampires?" she asked, pushing at the break gently with her foot.

"Most likely."

"And when that's all gone, they'll be forced to fight each other," Kora guessed next.

"Thus the end of the world," Avalon concluded with a big, childish smile. Kora was starting to think she didn't care as much as she said about the 'end of the world' deal.

Eventually Kora reached her boyfriend's house. "His car is there," she muttered to herself. Maybe she had been overreacting after all. She put her car in park in front of the house and turned the ignition off. "I'm going to check on him." She looked over at Sahale, shaking her head at their clothing again. "You better stay here."

She made her way to the door and rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. "Michael?" she called, knocking again. She peaked through the window that was next to the door. The hall was dark and empty. Her heart began to thud loudly as she decided to check the backyard. But when she stepped in the yard and looked around, the yard was vacant. "Michael!" she called again before jogging up the back porch steps. She opened the back door and rushed inside. Luckily it was unlocked.

There was a noise across the house; it sounded like something crashed to the floor. Forgetting herself, Kora ran toward the noise and discovered Avalon and Sahale standing next to a now broken vase that was lying on the floor in pieces. Kora gawked down at it. "That was his grandmother's gift to his mother!" she cried as quietly as she could, waving her arms up in the air.

"It was an accident," Avalon defended, her expression showing just how little she actually cared.

"You're supposed to be in the car." Kora clenched her teeth and glared at her until another crash grabbed her attention. This time it came from upstairs. "Michael," she whispered, her heart pounding once more. "Michael!" She ran up the stairs and slid as she turned to run down the hallway to his room.

"Hello, human," a familiar voice said dangerously. Kora shuddered as she stopped in her tracks, just a few feet from the open door. "So you came. Marvelous." The creature laughed darkly.

Kora inched toward the door, her heart pounding more wildly. "How did you know he was…"

"We're not stupid," the male spat. "We knew you escaped."

Kora saw him now. He looked handsome, but it was hard to admire his beauty when he was snarling at her. He had pointed ears, and as far as she could tell, he didn't have fangs. "Why would you waste your time looking for me?" She hoped her voice didn't sound so weak. She felt helpless, hanging onto the door frame. "Where's Michael?"

The male ignored her first question and smiled pleasantly. "Why, he's taking a nap." He motioned toward the bed. Kora forced herself to look, swallowing hard. She yelped and squeezed her eyes shut the moment they landed on him, turning away and covering her mouth. She began to sob. "This is the thing you love!" the male encouraged her to look again. "Don't be shy! You'll be joining him soon." There was a dangerous excitement in his voice. Kora refused to look, shaking her head as she slid down against the door frame. Her sobs turned into shrieks as he grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her upward. "Look at him!" he commanded, snarling. "We love our land, and you're taking _that_ away from us!"

Kora opened her eyes and saw the blood through her blurred vision. "Michael…" she sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself. His arms, legs, stomach, and chest were sliced open in several different areas. Blood streaked his skin, starting to dry as time passed. His eyes were half open, glazed over. The sheets he laid upon were soaked red with blood. "Michael!" she cried out with a heavy sob, dropping down to the floor on her knees. She looked up at the male angrily and pounded against his legs, crying to her heart's content. She froze as she noticed his chest, his neck; he was also covered in blood. Michael's blood. She fell backward and landed on her elbows. "Monster!" she accused him.

He gave a wicked laugh. "I couldn't care less what you call me!" he shouted above her sobs. "Your life is about to end," he continued more quietly, squatting down in front of her with his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes were filled with disgust, but they never left her. "I will have the pleasure of watching you die."

"I smell blood," a voice sang from down the hall, drawing near. Kora blinked as more tears fell down her cheeks, becoming silent. "Found her," Avalon said plainly as she entered the room. Does she not see him? Kora thought to herself, angry at Avalon for not being upset. But she was a monster too. They're all monsters, she thought in disgust and with a greater anger than she'd ever felt before.

"Avalon. What a nice surprise." The way he said it didn't make it sound sincere or honest.

"Hello, Antien," Avalon greeted, her eyes narrowed like daggers.

Sahale entered the room next. Her eyes looked over the corpse's body before gazing at Antien. "Antien," she greeted with a nod as if to be respectful.

"Sahale," he returned with a dark expression.

"Why?" she asked simply.

"You have no place to ask that," Antien snapped. "You've turned your back on us."

"Kale is leading you into hell," Sahale returned calmly. Her voice was like a lullaby. Kora sniffled and ended her crying, keeping her eyes on the floor as she sat upright. "You're blind to the consequences, Antien. Try to make sense of what will come after the blood source runs low."

"I refuse to listen," Antien growled. "I haven't any use for blood."

But the vampires do, Kora added mentally. She had a feeling that if she spoke those words, she would be hit and alone that was enough to keep her quiet.

"Antien," Sahale started.

"No!" he interrupted her angrily. He pulled Kora up by her hair again, more fiercely this time, and dragged her toward the window.

"What do you plan to do with a mere human?" Sahale asked with a dangerous tone.

"Kill it." And they were gone.


	5. Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

Kora struggled in Antien's arms as he dragged her across the yard. "No!" she screamed, kicking and thrashing blindly.

"Shut up, human!" he hissed, covering her mouth. He clamped his fingers down against her nose and mouth. She struggled to breathe as she clawed at his arms with her eyes squeezed shut. Slowly, though, the light began to dim. She feared that she would never see it again and reached out toward it, but the darkness pulled her in. Deeper in she fell, and finally she felt like she couldn't move any longer; paralyzed.

Calanon watched as Antien carried in an unconscious human. The heartless fool set her down on the table. The way the girl slept reminded him of Snow White, but she would have no prince to save her from death. His eyes remained dull as he stared at her; this girl didn't mean anything to him and never would. It hardly mattered if she died this very second. The only woman he cared about was Miss Sky; the one who had taken him in when he had no one else, even despite the fact that they were of different races.

Calanon knew something about Miss Sky that no one else from any other race would ever know. She was different; special and unique. She wasn't just any normal vampire, but the oldest vampire that he knew to be still roaming the earth. That wasn't the only thing that made her special though, as she was also a mixed breed. Yes, a vampire and an elf. Her mother was a vampire; the queen to be more specific. No, not just a queen, but a goddess. And her father, he was a god, and an elf. He couldn't believe that anyone else in his race didn't have a clue. Miss Sky's father was their religious figure; the one they went to when they were seeking advice. The two fell in love, though that was a secret because it was frowned upon. They fell in love and had three children; triplets. However, Miss Sky was the only one to survive this long. What happened to her siblings, Calanon did not know, and he doubted he ever would.

He sat back, folding his arms across his chest as he waited for her arrival, contemplating on the different theories he had of what might have happened to her family. He pictured them to be noble, but kind like Miss Sky. He would follow her until the end of his days.

"Where is Avalon?" Kane's voice broke through Calanon's thoughts.

"She hasn't followed yet," Antien answered as bravely as he could. Calanon scowled; Antien was nothing but a coward and a disgrace to the elves. "I assume she's preparing to fight."

Kane smirked and folded his arms, turning from the table to pace. "It won't take more than five minutes to kill Avalon." His laughter became contagious to a few of his fellow vampires around the table. "I wonder how long it will take to kill Sahale." His smile turned dark and pleasurable at the thought. Calanon balled his hands into fists, hiding his glare. Even if Kale did get his ass handed to him, Calanon hated listening to someone trash talk Miss Sky.

"I wonder how long it will take to kill Sahale," Kora heard someone say as she came to. At first she just laid there, motionless, wondering if she'd fallen asleep while working on her application. But the couch wasn't hard, nor was it cold. Her head was throbbing.

"It shouldn't be long," another voice muttered. "Not with this thing here."

Kora suddenly remembered being dragged out the window. She'd passed out because Antien had suffocated her. Her eyes popped open and she was greeted by a faery. Her heart stopped and she lost her breath for a moment. It blinked and stared at her silently. "I don't care how long I have to wait," the first voice replied. "Just as long as I can kill her. I've been waiting for this day." Whoever it was sounded pleased just thinking about it. "I'll snap her neck like a twig."

Kora couldn't stop staring back at the faerie. A male or a female, she couldn't make up her mind. She still felt like she was in a dream as her head continued to pound. Those annoying voices kept pressing and nagging at her ears until she finally sat up and looked at the loudmouths. Of course the first voice belonged to Kane; the male that had threatened her life just the day before. "But she's older than you," she blurted.

Kane seemed dismayed; appalled that any human would ever have the nerve to speak to him so casually. It only lasted a moment, however, as he started to laugh. "Does age really have anything to do with it?"

"I don't, I guess," Kora replied. "But it makes a good excuse in the end if she ends up kicking your ass."

Kane's face twisted into anger. "You speak of me like I'm some brainless weakling."

"Sorry," she said sarcastically. "I have a bad habit of judging books by their covers." Kora wasn't afraid to meet his gaze as she held her chin up with courage that was pulled from some unknown place in her mind.

Kane was silent for several moments. Nobody at the table made a noise, though Kora could have sworn she'd seen one of them smile. She blinked and it was replaced by a blank expression again. "I'm going to enjoy killing you," Kane finally said smoothly.

"What makes you think Sahale will come only for my sake?" Kora asked, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. Somehow all that courage drained away, as if there were a leak somewhere inside her.

"She will," he replied confidently with a smug smile. "I don't think she would let you die if she's been keeping an eye on you so carefully."

"You mean like a cat stalks a mouse? I'm like a juicy steak to her." Kora's words were laced with sarcasm, but inside she trembled. It was like God actually wanted her to die.

Kane didn't take the bait this time. Instead, he remained silent as if her words had in one ear and went out the other. He turned away from the table, taking his time, and picked something up. Kora squinted at him, trying to see what the object was, but the lighting of the room was too poor. Only when he turned around did it give off a small glint. Kora slid back a few inches on the table.

"Now you feel it," Kane nearly whispered. "Fear." He sniffed the air as if he could smell it and then smiled darkly.


	6. Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

While they were waiting for Kora's saviors to arrive, they decided to throw her in a dark, and as far as she could tell, empty room. Alone, she sat in front of the door shivering. Besides it being cold, she was scared out of her wits. Just today she had witnessed her boyfriend's corpse. She covered her face as she thought about his parents' reactions. His mother would be heart broken. She would see him and scream, fall to the floor on her knees… Kora sobbed softly. Michael had nothing to do with this. He never did anything to deserve to die. And so horribly. She remembered the way he stared back at her with those lifeless eyes and she shuddered, taking in a ragged breath.

How long had they been dating? Three years, she counted. They were set up to go to the same college as well; it wasn't just some high school sweetheart deal with them. She'd never wanted anybody else; he was the only one for her. Now she had no one to lean on, no shoulder to cry on, and no one to confess to. She never trusted anyone as much as she'd trusted Michael. She wished so badly that it had all just been a dream. That she would wake up anytime now and everything would be fine. He would call her just like any other day and they would go to the movies together. Her soft sobs turned into loud, pathetic cries of helplessness.

Not an hour later, the door opened. Kora looked up into the dim light, blinking away more tears. "Come on," a male's voice commanded. She didn't recognize this one. Slowly, she stood and stumbled to the door. She wasn't in any rush to die, even when she didn't have her significant other; she couldn't give up just yet. "We'll be going to a room you haven't visited yet," he informed her. He didn't have any particular hateful tone to his voice, but it wasn't kind either. Almost neutral.

She stayed silent anyway and tried not to trip over rocks that jutted out from the cave floor. She heard the male huff from behind her, obviously annoyed. She wondered what race he was, since he didn't seem to show much hate toward her. Or it could have possibly just been pity. Either way, she didn't want it. She just wanted to wake up and be gone from this miserable place.

"You'll be okay," the male finally said.

"Is that so I don't try to run away screaming?" Kora asked. His voice, she realized, sounded young. "What's your name?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. I'm just trying to make conversation," she said in her defense. There were a few moments of silence. "Well?"

"Calanon," he finally answered.

"That's a nice name," Kora commented.

"Yeah." Calanon sounded like he felt awkward somehow. Was it because he was making conversation with a human? "You're Miss Sky's friend," he said after another awkward moment of silence.

"Miss Sky?" Kora asked.

"Oh, Sahale," Calanon quickly corrected himself.

"Yeah, I'm Kora. How do you know Sahale?" Kora figured that maybe everyone called her Miss Sky except for Kane. Maybe it was a sign of respect.

There was a long pause before Calanon finally exhaled. "She took me in when I was just a kid." That was a shock.

"So you're not a vampire," Kora said knowingly. Unless it was a myth that you have to be turned to be a vampire and you don't age.

"I'm an elf," Calanon explained.

"That was nice of her," Kora said with a small smile. She never thought vampires were caring like that. There was more silence after that as they continued their way across different rooms and long narrow passages of the cave. It wasn't until they walked down a flight of steps that had been carved into the ground that they arrived to a brighter room. Kora got up the nerve as the door closed behind them to look back at Calanon. Then she realized that it was the male from before; the one who she thought she had seen smiling when she'd gotten smart with Kane. She slowed so he was walking beside her and asked lowly. "So you're in favor of Sahale?"

"I'll always support Miss Sky," he answered with his head held high. Kora thought Sahale was pretty lucky. She had a cute guy who also had manners living with her. Or did he still live with her? He hadn't been there that night. Then again, they had left earlier than anyone else would have. She looked up at him. He didn't have long hair like the rest of the elves she had seen before, but he was tall and he did have pointed ears. His eyes looked crystal blue and his hair only reached the lobes of his ears, a blond color. She swallowed and looked forward again. If he'd been going to her school, he would be one of the cool kids for sure. Even cooler than her younger brother.

"How old are you?" she asked next. They were nearing the middle of the room now.

"That's also important?" he asked. There was a brief silence before he finally answered. "Seventeen." He looked down at Kora. "Miss Sky took me in when I was eight."

"I'm eighteen," Kora responded a moment later. As if it mattered.

The two made it to the center of the room where she was taken from Calanon. Cuffs were forced onto her wrists and ankles, making her feel very uncomfortable. She winced slightly at the way the heavy metal dug itself into her skin.

"You honestly think that she's going to try to run away again?" Calanon asked Antien as he placed the cuffs on her ankles. "She doesn't have a crowd to run with now and she's too far from the door, which is closed." Of course he made a good point. Still, Antien's eyes narrowed and he hissed at Calanon to shut his mouth. Calanon looked at Kora apologetically and shrugged, never moving away.

This was still as good a comfort as any. She had a strong guy who was on her side standing next to her. He could help Sahale when she came. That is, if she would come. Kora watched the door intently, waiting.

"Welcome," Kane's voice echoed in the room. "Did you get any rest in this past hour?"

Kora glared at Kane. Her face was a total mess from crying, she knew. But he didn't have to rub it in. "You can call me weak," she said. "But at least I have a heart. A heart that grows stronger as it heals from every wound that you make."

"Feeling poetic?" Kane suggested with a smirk. "Or just wise?" His eyes narrowed.

"Wiser than you, that's for sure," Kora shot back. "What you're attempting to do is stupid. You're blind to the consequences."

"You sound like Sahale," Kane spat. He walked closer to her and placed his fingers under her chin to lift her face. She looked him straight in the eye. He smiled, but it was disgusted and fake. He probably wanted nothing more than to tear her apart. Instead, he raised his hand and gave her a sharp slap across the face. Kora's eyes were wide; she was stunned.

"What do you think you're doing?" a voice asked from afar. A voice that she was able to recognize, and for once, glad to hear.

"Avalon," she whispered.

"That's my play toy you've got there," Avalon purred as she walked toward the four in the middle of the room. Kora couldn't help her halfhearted glare. "Hello, scrumptious," Avalon greeted Kora with a smile. Then her eyes turned to Kane and grew cold. "Easy with the merchandise."

"What a pleasant surprise, Avalon," Kane growled, dropping his hand away from Kora's face. Kora glanced at Calanon, but he was ignoring her now. He was watching Kane as he walked toward Avalon. They met halfway and stood a foot away from each other, never blinking or leaving each other's gaze. "I'm so glad you could make it here today."

"I wouldn't miss out on kicking your ass," Avalon said smoothly. Kora looked down Avalon's body and noticed she'd brought a few things with her. There were throwing daggers hung around her torso on a leather belt and two twin blades; one of each tied to either side of her hips by leather strings that crossed over one another.

"Really?" Kane replied with amusement. "Somehow I doubt that."

Avalon's eyes narrowed and she drew her twin blades. Creatures around the room hissed and started toward them, but Kane held up his hands. They halted where they were, even though they looked anxious to join the frenzy. Kane smiled darkly and pulled a sword from his cane. Kora stared. Were they in some FX movie now?

Avalon was first to move, faster than Kora had expected, and her blades clanged against Kane's sword as he moved quickly to block the blow. The blades struggled and scraped against each other for several moments before she brought one back and attacked his lower half. He, however, used the rest of the cane to block that sword as well. He looked pleased with himself; smug that he was doing so well already.

Once again, Avalon moved first, stepping back and bouncing forward again. Kora glanced up again at Calanon, who looked just as anxious as the others to join the fight. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his eyes focused on Kane. Kora was definitely happy that he was on her side. Or, if not her side, Sahale's side.

But with all of this fighting going on, Kora wondered how it would end, if not with the human race dying. Her focus was torn away as she slipped into deep thought. There would be, if there wasn't already, a power struggle between races. Obviously vampires seemed to be the fiercest, but among them there were ones like Kane. Sahale was most fit for the throne, Kora bet, but so many others seemed to be more interested in revenge instead of living. None of them had the common sense that she had, except for Calanon and Avalon, it seemed. But maybe there were others who felt the same way that they did and didn't know how to stand up to Kane. Or they were cowards, Kora added mentally, nearly grunting aloud.

Suddenly Kora was pulled roughly to the right by her chains, causing the metal cuffs to cut into her skin. She hissed inwardly at the pain as she squeezed her eyes shut. Avalon and Kane flew right past her. She realized that Antien had pulled her out of their way just in time. She looked at him, but he didn't meet her gaze. He looked just as frightened as she had felt the first time she came here as he watched the two dodge and attack. She watched him like that for several minutes, trying her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her wrists where the metal had cut her. Somehow that disgusted her, to see him so scared. He wasn't in any danger as far as she knew. He wasn't the one in cuffs, bleeding, and only minutes away from death if Avalon didn't kill that guy.

She inched closer to him slowly while his attention was still on the fight. When she was close enough, she moved quickly, flinging her arms up and yanking them back, hugging her arms to her chest. The chains had successfully wrapped themselves somewhat around Antien's neck. He became alert as she had flung her arms up and gotten his hands caught in the mess of chains. He pulled at them now, but Kora pulled harder. She jumped back, despite her ankles also being cuffed, and was able to pull him down. He coughed as the chains choked him. Others around the room were also alert. Even Kane had become alert, but before he could react, Avalon distracted him again as he was barely able to block her attack from behind.

"S-stop her!" Antien choked out with a shriek.

Calanon moved next to Antien and pressed the tip of his sword to the coward's throat. "No one will help you. You disgust them," he growled. "You coward."

Both Antien and Kora looked around the room. Calanon was right. Even if any of them did have the desire to kill Kora for blood, they didn't move an inch. Some of them did hiss, however, when Calanon stated that they wouldn't help Antien. Kora took that as a sign of agreement; something good for a change. She looked at Kane, knowing that if he was the one to order help, the creatures would rush toward her. But he won't, she thought with satisfaction. He wants to kill me himself; he wouldn't let them put a scratch on me. Despite the cuffs, she hadn't been hurt in any way by anyone else in this room.

Avalon stepped back from her opponent, breathing heavily. They'd been equally matched this whole time. Kora wondered how; she'd always believed that there was a difference in strength with age. That's how it had always been in the books and movies. Then again, those were only books and movies; this was reality. But then again, they weren't too far apart in age. Avalon said herself that he was around her age. She's stalling? Kora couldn't be sure.

She knelt down close to Antien's ear. "Take my cuffs off, or die." She pushed against his back, forcing him against Calanon's blade.

"Okay, okay!" Antien choked out. He pulled out an ancient looking key and unlocked her cuffs. Kora didn't let her guard down as she carefully slipped out of the cuffs, taking hold of the chains tightly.

"My ankles too," she added. He did as he was told, his hands shaking in the process. This man didn't even deserve her pity. He had killed the man she loved, trusted, and wanted to be with for the rest of her life. As he finished with the cuffs, she shoved him forward. Calanon's blade cut through his throat and his small scream was silenced quickly.

Calanon looked at Kora with disbelief, but it quickly turned into a sort of respect. Kane had turned once again. "Human!" he snarled.

"Pay attention to me!" Avalon snarled as her blade cut his arm. Kane turned quickly and snarled back, swinging his sword blindly in her direction. Instead, Avalon was able to block with her right blade and swing with her left, slicing his knee badly. Blood was staining his white blouse and Kora could tell from the way he limped that Avalon had cut deep with the second attack.

Calanon wiped his blade and put it away before calling to Avalon. "Let's go already." He didn't bother to give any warning before he swung Kora off her feet. She gave a small cry of surprise and hung onto him as he began running. Avalon was on his heels, grinning smugly at Kora as their gazes met.


	7. Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

"I think I would have liked to see Sahale fight more," Kora mused when they were outside.

Calanon laughed breathlessly as he put Kora back on her feet. "You should cover your wounds," he advised her. "They'll smell your blood and follow us."

"Why didn't they follow us out here?" Kora asked.

"They were too busy crowding Kane to bother," Calanon answered with a careless shrug. "He's more important in this case. Not some human. Their goal was to end the whole human race; not just kill you."

"So why are they bothering about me in the first place?"

"Haven't you put that together yet?" he asked with dissatisfaction. "Sahale has a problem with you dying, apparently."

Kora didn't know why Sahale bothered trying to keep her alive. She hoped Avalon would know if Calanon didn't. "Why is that, Avalon?"

"Don't ask me," Avalon shrugged. "I'm just helping a friend, no matter how strange her requests seem to be." She smiled, but there wasn't any particular friendliness that Kora found in it. "Anyway, let's go."

Kora nodded. "Wait for me to finish covering these." She tore the bottom half of her shirt off. Calanon averted his eyes like a gentleman and cleared his throat to fill the silence. She tore that half into two and took a moment to wrap each wrist with the scraps. "I hope my mom doesn't think I've gotten all emotional and disturbed," she muttered.

The three began walking, Calanon leading the way. Avalon walked beside Kora as if she were acting like her personal guard. All the while, Kora was giving herself a headache wondering why Sahale wanted to keep her safe. Was there a specific reason or was it something small and pathetic like pity? Maybe she admired the fact that Kora had the bravery and brains to escape the first time she was brought to the cave. The thoughts cycled endlessly through her mind as they walked.

"Finally," Kora heard Avalon mutter as Calanon came to a stop ahead of them. Kora recognized the tree house that she had been brought to not long ago. The three made their way inside, climbing down the flight of stairs like before. When they entered the room below, Avalon called out, "We're home."

"Welcome," Sahale said while she set a small bowl of stew on the table. "Come here," she beckoned to Kora as she placed a spoon beside it. "I made you something to eat."

Kora sat down at the table and looked down at the food. The smell rose to her nostrils and filled them. Her stomach growled in return, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything for hours. It had become dark while she had been walking with Avalon and Calanon to Sahale's tree house. She dug in hungrily, shoving large amounts into her mouth at a time. She hardly cared that a cute guy was watching her eat. She had never been the type of girl to order a salad and water when she went out to dinner. No, she was the type of girl who would eat half a pizza. She used to split pizzas with Michael all the time. The memory made her stomach churn. She slowed down while eating in response, tears stinging her eyes.

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend," Sahale said softly as if reading her mind.

"I am too," Kora mumbled, looking down at the half empty bowl. "I'll never find another guy like him."

"Maybe not," Sahale agreed. "But there are a lot of fish in the sea. Someone better. Someone good enough if not as good." She leaned against the side of the table with her arms crossed.

"It's going to be a while," Kora replied, meeting Sahale's gaze. "Can I save the rest for later? I have a feeling I won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Yeah." Sahale took the bowl and spoon, placing them on the counter. "You'll stay here tonight and we'll get a few sets of clothes from your house while you sleep. Calanon will be here to make sure you stay safe."

Kora looked at Calanon, but he was looking at Sahale and nodding. He was a good guy, and he seemed to care a lot for Sahale. She would bring it up later, maybe. To pass time if anything else. She turned her gaze to Sahale next, realizing how tall she was when she stood. "How tall are you?" she asked out of the blue.

Sahale looked slightly surprised. "I'm six feet tall," she answered as if it were perfectly normal.

"That tall?" Kora asked in astonishment. "Why, Calanon is only four or five inches taller than you!"

"Well," Sahale started. "I'm not like most other beings.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kora became curious.

"She's special," Calanon interrupted. "Time for bed, Kora."

"It's not even nine yet," Kora pointed out.

"You're going to need rest," Calanon shot back. Kora was forced to give up and laid on the cot in the room. Luckily only candles were burning around the room, so it was dim enough for her to fall fast asleep. She closed her eyes and, to her surprise, drifted into the darkness with ease. All of the crying, excitement, and walking had worn her out. She was glad that Calanon had made her go to bed. Until she was greeted by her dreams, that is.

"We're leaving now," Sahale informed Calanon quietly. Avalon was already starting to climb up the narrow staircase, disappearing quickly into the darkness. Calanon nodded and kissed Sahale's knuckle gently before she left as well. After she was gone, all he had to do now was sit there in the dim light by himself with a sleeping human on the other side of the room. He drew a silent breath and exhaled a little more loudly. Contrary to what he would have thought, Kora didn't stir in her sleep.

He stood slowly and stretched out. It had already been an hour since Avalon and Sahale left to pick up a few items for Kora. Calanon couldn't help but feel worried. He anticipated the moment that they walked into the room, emerging from the stairs. But after another twenty minutes of waiting they still hadn't come in. He sighed to himself, folding his hands together only to pull them apart once again. He twirled his fingers casually, looking around the dim room until his eyes rested on Kora's sleeping body. She looked restless as she groaned in her sleep and rolled over in the small cot. His worries were pulled away from Sahale for a moment as he thought she might fall off the cot.

Calanon made his way across the room and fixed her blankets so they were tucked under her body. He looked more closely at her face as it turned toward him. Her hair was sticking to her face; she must have been sweaty. He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. She wasn't burning up, but she felt very cold instead. Calanon frowned and fixed her pillows before taking a seat, closer to the cot this time so he could reach her before she fell on the floor.

Suddenly she became still. After a few moments, Calanon heard her murmur, "They're not back yet." She still sounded drowsy, which was a good thing in his opinion.

"Yeah, but they shouldn't be too long," he replied with a quiet voice.

"I'll bet the window was locked." Kora yawned. "My mom has this thing about locking every entry way into the house."

"She's smart to be that careful," Calanon commented, folding his arms across his chest as he crossed his legs, stretching them out away from the chair. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. "Does she believe in us?"

"No, she's just afraid of burglars," Kora answered, still sounding tired. Another yawn escaped her lips.

"That's too bad," Calanon replied dully. He couldn't help but yawn after Kora had been yawning nonstop for the last few minutes of being awake. "They're on their way here, I bet. A locked window won't stop them."

"They didn't break it?" Kora asked, sounding drowsier than before.

"Nah," Calanon answered. "Go to sleep already."

"Okay," Kora said with one last yawn. In seconds she was asleep again, and in another couple of minutes, so was Calanon.

Kora woke with a start as something heavy crashed against the wooden floor across the room. Her eyes flew open to Avalon stepping down the last step, bending over to pick up the luggage she'd thrown. "Jeez, Avalon. Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" Kora muttered and rolled her eyes.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Avalon shot back with a purr.

"Enough, you two," Calanon interrupted. "You were gone for a long time."

"We got held up by a couple of guys," Avalon answered as she sat down in a chair that was across the room, laying back and crossing her legs lazily.

"For being so old, you're really immature," Kora muttered.

"I'm just enjoying life," Avalon answered with a smirk. "Something you won't be doing too much longer." Kora glared in response.

Sahale walked gracefully into the room. Her clothes, however, didn't seem fit for a queen any longer. "What happened?" Calanon asked, as if he'd been ignoring Avalon from the start. Kora honestly couldn't blame him.

"We were attacked when we got to the house," Sahale answered, walking to a dresser that Kora hadn't noticed before.

"My house?" she asked as she became alert. "What about my mom and brother?" Her heart picked up pace as she began to panic.

"It's okay," Sahale soothed her, placing her hand on Kora's shoulder. "They're fine. Nobody went into the house."

"We were attacked as soon as we set foot on the lawn," Avalon explained. She rubbed her stomach. "Finally got some food in here, but it wasn't tasty human blood."

Kora rolled her eyes, looking disgusted. "Were they vampires?"

"A few of them were," Sahale answered. "Mostly faeries."

Kora shuddered as she remembered their big, black, alien-like eyes that had stared at her for so long, unblinkingly as she sat on the table. They had looked hungry, like she was an all-you-can-eat buffet. "You checked, didn't you?"

"We did," Sahale reassured her. "None of them were hurt. They never so much as laid a finger on your mother or brother."

Kora felt Calanon's eyes on her. She turned her head and met his gaze steadily, feeling calmer. "Where's your father?" he asked.

A few long moments passed before she finally felt up to answering. She blinked, a rush of pain returning that she'd locked out a long time ago. "Dead," she answered softly. "He died in a car accident last year."

Calanon didn't react the way she'd expected. He simply leaned back, the same bored expression on his face. It actually struck a nerve. Just because she was human, her family suddenly didn't matter. But then she remembered that he didn't have a family either. It wasn't long ago that he told her that Sahale had taken him in. "What happened to your family?" she asked him.

This time Calanon's expression did change. But he didn't look sad; he looked angry. It struck Kora as she became surprised. Since the moment she'd seen Calanon, she'd noted that he was in control of his emotions. She recalled the first time she'd seen him at the table. How he had smiled, but quickly concealed it.

"My parents left me," he answered simply. He didn't make eye contact now, but instead he looked at the floor unblinkingly. "They told me I was only a burden and left me."

Kora was further surprised. That sounded so cruel. At least with humans, they had orphanages; places and people who were willing to take you in. "How old were you?"

"Six," he answered. Again, something struck her heart and she suddenly felt pity for him. "Sahale found me when I was ten." Kora imagined the harsh four years he must have had to endure. "Nobody offered help, nobody bothered to give me a crumb of food." His voice choked and he became silent again.

"He was terribly frail," Sahale continued for him. "His hair was long and unwashed; he looked filthy. His clothes were torn and too small for his size because he was so tall." Kora looked as shocked as she felt. She looked at Calanon again with sad eyes.

"Calanon," she started to say softly.

"No," he cut her off. "I don't want to hear how sorry you are for me." Kora shut her mouth and looked down at her hands. What kind of people had his parents been? It made her wonder what kind of love he had for Sahale now. She looked at Sahale, who was watching Calanon with her arms crossed, a sad smile on her lips.

"I'm proud of you," Sahale finally murmured. Calanon looked up at her and their gazes met. He smiled then too.


	8. Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

Kora stood in the corner of the room without moving. Her clothes she'd been wearing yesterday were now lying on the smooth, wooden floor next to her feet. She looked in the mirror that hung in front of her on the wall. Her complexion looked paler to her than it had been even just yesterday before she was kidnapped once again. Her hair looked greasy and her eyes looked tired. She needed a shower badly.

Her hands moved over her stomach and rested there for several moments before sliding around her hips so she was hugging herself. "I'm sorry," she whispered quietly as she thought about two of the most important people in her life. Her best friend, Sally, was still missing and worse, her boyfriend was now dead. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself, or maybe she was asking God. She didn't know who to look to for help or guidance now. And now she had to worry about her mom and brother. Tears ran down her cheeks and she slid down until she was resting on her knees. The cool air brushed her naked skin and made her shiver, but she didn't care. She stayed there like that with her face buried in her hands. Reality was settling down on her shoulders; the weight was crushing her. She didn't know how much more she could take before she just fell apart. And the worst thing was it had only been two days since it all started.

"Kora?" Sahale's voice came in through the curtain that was hanging behind the girl. "Are you ready?"

Kora remembered herself and gathered her things, sniffling quietly. "N-no. I need a shower." She gathered her new clothes and stood slowly. Looking into the mirror she saw the same pale complexion, but this time accompanied by tears, red eyes, and a runny nose. She made a face at how gross she looked.

"Alright. Put something around you and follow me." Sahale's footsteps grew softer as she walked away from the curtain. Kora tugged on her old, dirty tee shirt and her old underwear, feeling grosser still. But it didn't matter as long as she could get clean soon. She stepped outside of the curtain and scurried through, embarrassed that Calanon was sitting in a chair and she was in plain sight without jeans on. Still, she didn't think he was looking; he just wasn't that type of guy. She couldn't help but glance to make sure anyway, but she had been right. He was looking down at his feet, paying extra close attention to the detail in them.

She hurried up the stairs after Sahale. She felt lucky that she would be able to bathe; she'd been wondering how Sahale was able to keep up her hygiene. However, Sahale was leading her outside. Kora silently wondered if there was some type of outhouse nearby with a shower inside. But instead of leading her toward some type of shack or outhouse, they were heading further into the woods. Kora began to wish that she had put her shoes on as she started stepping over rocks and tree roots. The trees were getting thicker and it was darker too. "Where are we…?" Kora started to ask, but the trees suddenly became thinner and stopped. She heard water nearby. "Oh no. You do not bathe in the river."

"Why not? It's clean water," Sahale returned, stepping over a large log easily. Kora slowed and climbed over it clumsily and chased after her, now starting to get the feeling that she was like a child in Sahale's eyes.

Kora groaned and dropped her dirty jeans on the ground. "Well where am I supposed to put my clean clothes?"

"On the branch over there," Sahale answered simply. Kora let out a long, exasperated sigh and stumbled over to the branch and hung her clothes on it. She'd be damned if she found a spider crawling on her later. She turned around and stopped, looking at a now half naked Sahale standing in front of the water. She gawked.

"What are you doing?" she asked, walking back toward her where her jeans were laying.

Sahale pointed toward another tree where clothes had already been hanging. "I need to bathe too. I figured we're both girls, so it would be easier if we both got it done at the same time."

"But you're…" Kora trailed off. She couldn't help but notice how tall skinny Sahale was and compared her own, short, human self to her. Her complexion was far from Sahale's, and standing in front of her naked would only embarrass her. The only upper hand she had against this woman physically was her breasts.

"What?" Sahale looked honestly confused.

"She's just embarrassed," Avalon teased as she dropped her clothes. She didn't even bother hanging them up on a branch. Kora turned to look at her, but turned away again the instant she laid eyes on Avalon. "See?" Avalon said.

"You're naked!" Kora defended. "I don't want to see something like that!"

Avalon shrugged and walked past her into the water. "We're going to be covered anyway." Kora was red in the face as she couldn't help but notice that she didn't have any upper hand against Avalon at all. Everything about her was curvy and toned. That struck a nerve as she became somewhat jealous.

Sahale joined her in the water a moment later. They both minded their own business as they washed themselves. Kora stood there not knowing what to do for several minutes. "Come on already," Avalon said. "You're not getting a shower anywhere else."

"Can't we go into town or something?" Kora complained.

"That wouldn't be as fun," Avalon taunted. "Guess you're going to be dirty all day."

Kora huffed loudly and threw her clothes off quickly, holding onto her breasts as she ran into the water. "I saw that." Avalon was taunting her again. Kora rolled her eyes and turned her back.

"What are we supposed to do for soap and shampoo?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Forgot it," Sahale said simply. "You can get it if you want. It's in the house."

House? Tree house is a better word for it, Kora thought to herself grumpily. "Fine," she said with a sneer as she walked back out of the water. There weren't even any towels to use. Great.

It wasn't until she made it into the first room of the tree house that she realized Calanon was still down there. She stumbled down half the steps, sure that she was covering everything she didn't want him to see. "Calanon?" She called out to him hesitantly. "Can you throw me a towel, please?"

A few moments later, a small green towel landed on the steps just below her. She bent carefully to pick it up and wrapped it around herself quickly. "I'm coming through," she called.

"Did you forget something?" Calanon asked when she made it to the bottom step, focusing on his feet again.

"The shampoo and soap," she answered, looking around the room. Calanon stood and walked to the other side of the room and disappeared behind the curtain she'd gotten undressed in earlier. Moments later he walked back out holding both, closing his eyes. "Here." He held them out, his arms fully extended like he refused to touch her because she was some slimy, sick looking creature.

She took them quickly. "Thanks," she muttered and turned to leave.

She heard him mumble "your welcome" as her foot touched the first step. She paused to look back, but stopped herself and walked back outside.

Later that morning, all three of the girls were back in Sahale's home. What she called a house. Kora was sitting at the table eating some left over stew that Sahale heated for her. "I'm surprised you know how to cook," she teased. "Then again," she said between bites thoughtfully. "You were human at one point in your life."

"No she wasn't," Calanon cut in.

Kora became confused. "But she said she was turned at sixteen." She looked from Calanon to Sahale. "Right?"

Sahale suddenly looked uncomfortable for the first time. "Not exactly." Kora noticed as she rubbed her hands together unsteadily. "I was born this way."

Kora's eyes widened. "You what?" She couldn't believe Sahale had lied to her. Sure they weren't close. True they didn't know much about each other. But to Kora's surprise, it still upset her. "What do you mean, you were born that way? I thought that wasn't possible."

"It isn't," Sahale said softly, looking down at her hands. "But I'm not like the others."

"Why did you choose sixteen? And why do you look so young?" Not that Kora meant to be rude, but she figured anyone else would ask the same questions.

"I don't age like a human," Sahale explained, sounding slightly offended by the thought. It must have been a vampire thing, for it to be an insult to be compared to mere humans. Kora couldn't help but roll her eyes. "And I thought that you were around that age. I wanted you to feel more comfortable. For humans, similar ages tend to help them make friends." Sahale sounded like she had been studying humans for a science fair project.

"Sure. Or you could have just told me from the beginning so I could feel like, I don't know, I actually trust you." Kora had her arms crossed over her chest.

"First," Calanon cut in casually. "She's very trustworthy." He was sitting next to Kora at the table, eating the same type of stew. "Second, she learned how to cook because she had me here." Calanon sounded offended for Sahale. Kora couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in her stomach knowing Calanon's past and how Sahale had helped him in his time of need. In her mood, she had forgotten what Sahale had done for her as well. She didn't really save her either time, but she was keeping her safe now. And she was the one that had sent Avalon to save her the second time she was captured. She was even nice enough to go get clothes for her.

"I'm sorry," she finally said in honest sincerity. "I shouldn't have snapped at you, Sahale."

Sahale straightened up. "As long as you don't do it again," she said.

A smile broke across Kora's face. "You don't have to be so formal all the time, you know," she teased.

Sahale didn't react like any other normal girl—human girl—would react. Instead, she looked a little caught off guard and embarrassed. She didn't laugh about it or joke back, but gave a small, halfhearted smile. Kora returned the smile before eating, thinking how cute that was, even for her being some abnormal creature thing. Calanon seemed to think so too as he smiled, his eyes gazing at her with compassion. Was she blind to his feelings? Or were his feelings more family based? Kora couldn't tell, but she wanted to know.

"Whatever, this is boring," Avalon said from her wall. She was in her usual position, arms crossed, foot and back resting against the wall near the stairway. "Let's go do stuff. I'm hungry."

"We should go shopping," Kora said, a small burst of excitement taking place in her stomach. "It will be fun and you guys won't look so…" She searched for the words. "Outdated."

"Outdated?" Avalon asked with a roll of her eyes. "Boys these days dig girls like me."

"The gaming nerds," Kora shot back, even though Avalon did have a point. There were boys in Kora's high school that would drool over Avalon if they saw her in that skimpy leather suit with her twin blades, which were still attached to her waist. She wondered where she'd been keeping them before, as she didn't have them when they first met or when they followed her into town.

"Gaming nerds?" Avalon asked. "Those teenagers who spend all day on those things pressing buttons?"

Kora scoffed at Avalon's word choice while the other two looked hopelessly lost. She figured they didn't get around much. "You mean game systems and controllers."

"Game systems," Avalon said slowly, testing the words against her tongue. "What are they like?"

"I can show you," Kora said, hoping this was her ticket to go to the mall. "They have arcades too."

"Arcades?" Calanon cut in this time.

"You might like them," Kora suggested. Yes, she had them trapped. Now they could go into town and—

"What about your protection?" Sahale asked.

It wasn't like she was trying to be a downer, but she was really good at it as she rained on Kora's parade. "You guys will be there," Kora answered. "We'll be fine."

"Other peoples' protection?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. She reminded Kora of a young, stern mother scolding her child.

"I doubt other people will get involved. Who'd be crazy enough to walk into the mall during summer break where all the kids are hanging out in the middle of the day?"

"Kane," the three answered together.

"But Avalon showed him who's boss," Kora prompted, hoping the woman's pride would kick in.

"Still…" Sahale seemed to be giving in as her arms fell to her side and the corners of her mouth pulled themselves downward, forming a frown. Her eyebrows knit together with worry.

"Yeah," Avalon said, pushing herself away from the wall. "I did kick his ass, didn't I?" Kora's parade was pushing through the rain. She could see it now; they would be at the mall very soon. Drums and trumpets rang in her ears as she felt triumph.

"Fine," Sahale sighed. "Let's go."

Kora practically jumped for joy. "Yes!" She was tired of being stuck in this tree, even if it had only been for one night.

Not an hour later, they were walking through the entrance of the mall, Kora leading the way. They had stopped at her house so the three could put on some normal looking clothing. She had a hell of a time trying to get Calanon's hair to cover his pointed ears and finally gave him her brother's hat. Now he wore jeans and a loose tee shirt with an open, plaid button-up shirt over top with work boots. She didn't think it was his style, but it would do, and she noticed other girls staring, so he must have looked close to normal, besides the fact that he was abnormally gorgeous.

Avalon on the other hand looked like a teacher. A teacher from some teenager's dreams, Kora thought as she eyed her. Sadly, none of Kora's clothes fit Avalon's curvy figure, so they had to go through her mom's clothes and she ended up wearing a white button-up top that was only half buttoned up and a tight skirt that ended at her knees and began at her navel. Kora turned her attention to Sahale next, who looked more innocent, wearing one of her tank tops and a pair of her jeans with some sandals. So of course Avalon caught the most attention. Kora sighed as she continued to walk.

They reached the escalators; the highlight of the day as the three were unsure of what to do. She couldn't help but laugh at them, ignoring the stares they were getting from other people. Gorgeous people with no brains; the typical stereotype. She could have sworn vampires would be more in touch with today's technology like they were in the movies and books, living among them. And maybe some of them did. However, that wasn't the case with these three as they kept to themselves in the forest. She didn't know where Avalon lived, but it couldn't have been in any city or town as she put one foot on the first step and stretched out her legs as it began to move. Her skirt was getting tighter and Kora was afraid she would tear it, but luckily Avalon made a whimpering noise and brought her other foot up with it.

Calanon seemed to have taken notes and quickly stepped on to the moving step and Sahale did the same thing, although she looked embarrassed and slightly afraid. Silently, Kora wondered if Kane had any idea how to get on an escalator. If he didn't, they were in luck. She stepped on easily and felt good about knowing how to do something she didn't. For once, they had to look to a human for help, which they seemed to be embarrassed of. It seemed like something they would keep a secret from others of their race. They got off more easily as they seemed to grasp what the escalator was used for and waited for her there. She stepped off and that weird feeling came as it usually did, like when she ran on a treadmill for a mile and slowed to a stop. Once she wasn't moving anymore, a weird sensation would kick in trying to say that she still had to be moving.

The group turned right and made their way to another escalator, the three groaning behind Kora as if it were hard work. "Lazy humans," Avalon cursed.

"Kora!" a familiar voice called from the top of the escalator.

Kora looked up and blinked. "S-sally?" She exhaled in relief as she saw her friend smiling and waving as if everything were okay. She didn't hesitate as she got on the escalator and jogged up it. The others followed her example, but stumbled too many times to count. Eventually they just stuck with riding the escalator normally, their faces a bright shade of red. Kora looked back at them from the top of the steps.

"Who are they?" Sally asked, looking down at them as well.

"Uh," Kora stumbled, but found a lie somewhere in the back of her mind and put it to good use. "They're family."

"I've never seen them before," Sally said. "They…don't get around much, do they?"

"No." Kora laughed. "They're from the countryside."

"Dang. I'll have to start dating boys from the countryside then." She was talking about Calanon obviously. Kora glanced at her friend and couldn't help but get upset about that line. Still, she knew her friend was joking and didn't mean any harm.

"Hey, so, what happened to you the other night?" Kora asked.

Sally shrugged. "We must have partied hard, 'cause I woke up in my bed all tangled in the sheets without the slightest memory of what happened."

Kora was surprised at this and wondered how that was, but she was thankful nonetheless. "Y-yeah." She laughed. "I must have given you a ride home."

"You mean you don't remember either!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

Kora laughed more easily. "Yeah, I woke up like you did."

"Wow that must have been some party." Sally smiled.

Kora nodded, hoping that nobody told her that they weren't at the party that night. She didn't know what she would do if Sally asked her why nobody else saw them at the party and how they got drunk in the first place.

Suddenly Sally leaned forward slowly, looking left and then right. "But I think I have a stalker," she whispered.

"No way!" Kora tried to sound like her normal self, but she felt uneasy.

"Yeah, this guy keeps following me around," she continued, her eyes light as if she were sharing juicy gossip. "Kind of cute, but it's still creepy, you know?"

Kora nodded. "Where is he?"

"Look to my left, behind the rack," she whispered before standing straight again, trying to look normal.

Kora tried to be conspicuous as she looked past her friend's shoulder at the rack. Sally was right; there was a guy there, and he was cute. Kora's eyebrows lifted. "Wow, you weren't kidding," she murmured. She had to see catch that guy and find out why he was following her. He looked to handsome to be any regular guy and he could be following her under Kane's orders. But why would they let her go that first night? They didn't know that Kora would escape; they didn't expect to need Sally as bait. It didn't make any sense. "Well, we better get going. I'm showing them around," Kora said, excusing herself.

"Yeah, cool. I'll catch you later," Sally said, waving. "Peace."

"Wait," Kora said, grasping her friend's arm gently. "I'll go talk to that guy."

Sally looked surprised. "Okay, but be careful."

The two parted ways as Kora began walking toward the stalker, the others walking close behind. "I'm glad that your friend is well," Sahale murmured, stepping up her pace to walk beside Kora.

"Yeah, me too." Kora was smiling a little, glad that her friend wasn't dead. Her smile faltered in the next second though as an image of her dead boyfriend slithered into the back of her mind. Her stomach churned, making her feel uneasy and sick. "I'm glad we came here today."

The group walked casually past the rack where the stalker stood, pretending to look at something. He set the object down—a small diary, as if he were looking for a present for a little sister or girlfriend—and began to walk toward Sally. Just in time, Kora flanked right and took hold of his leather jacket, shoving him back into the store department area behind the rack.

Sahale was taken by surprise, but Calanon was fast on his feet, dashing behind the stalker and wrapping his arm around his throat. "What's the meaning of this, Kora?" Sahale asked.

"He's been stalking Sally," Kora said. She met the man's gaze. "Why?"

The man didn't say anything until he looked at Sahale, his eyes widening slightly. "I'm with you! I'm with you, Sahale."

Sahale looked more closely at the man. "Faelon?" She signaled Calanon to release him.

"In the flesh," he said with a smile. "I knew you were right, Sahale. I wanted to save as many as I could, but before I could gather anymore, the others came to wake the humans."

"How many did you take?" Sahale asked.

"Only two. One of which I wasn't able to protect any longer. They're going on a rampage, Sahale. Killing humans left and right. So I had to protect this girl, or my saving her would have been for nothing." Faelon looked at Kora next. "I take it that she is your friend."

"Yeah, and I was captured too," Kora answered. She was thankful that he protected Sally, but at the same time, she wished that she could have been saved too. Then she wouldn't be wasting her time with these people and clueless to what happened that night. Then Michael wouldn't be dead.

"They're killing?" Sahale asked, bringing Kora's attention back to reality.

"It's everywhere," Faelon answered, grabbing a newspaper off a rack nearby.

Kora took the newspaper and read aloud, "Up to twenty students who have just graduated from the local high school have gone missing in the last two days. Just this morning, several of the bodies were found in a ditch with vampire-like markings on their necks or other bite marks along their bodies. One student was found at home tied to his bed with multiple gashes along his body. Police don't know what to expect and won't accept questions from reporters as of yet." She looked at the others. "What are we going to do?"

"This is becoming a big problem," Avalon observed as if nobody already knew that. She looked at Sahale who met her gaze evenly.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly before turning back to Faelon. "Are there more like you?"

"Plenty," he answered. "They're still in the cave with the others, but every day they do small things to manipulate plans. They've already killed five faeries." The mention of them gave Kora the shivers as they usually did. Faelon looked around and brushed a few loose strands of hair out of his face. "I need to go back to that girl," he finally said. "I can't let her go too far from my sight."

Kora nearly mentioned that they could have Sally stay with them, but thought twice about her words. She knew that if Sally got any more involved in the situation than she already was, she would definitely end up dead or badly injured. She wouldn't be able to handle the shock because she didn't remember anything about the first night that they had been abducted in the woods. She still thought that they had went to the party and simply gotten too drunk to remember anything. It wasn't like she had anything that could be of use; she'd only be dragged along, probably complaining more than Kora already did. In all honesty, Sally would most likely be safer being stalked by Faelon.

Kora realized then that Faelon was in the middle of saying his goodbyes, shaking hands with Calanon and giving the other two hugs. She never thought elves and vampires were so casual; they always seemed so formal to her. Faelon turned to her now. Kora blinked as he offered his hand. She started to shake his hand, but he bent down and kissed her knuckle gently. Naturally, like any other girl, Kora couldn't help as a light blush spread over her cheeks. "And your name was?" his voice sounded in her ears.

"Kora," she answered a little shyly. "Kora Semele."

"Faelon," he said with a nod. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kora." He smiled, bringing a smile to Kora's lips as well.

"Cut it out before you give the girl an orgasm," Avalon said plainly, breaking the spell. Kora turned and glared at her. "Just because you're impressed with her bravery for taking you on like that…"

"Avalon," Faelon cut her off. "Don't be so jealous." Kora couldn't help it as she smiled while watching him hurry off to find her friend. Avalon only rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.


	9. Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

To Kora's disappointment, the group hadn't stayed at the mall to play at the arcade or buy new clothing and jewelry. Instead, they had hurried out of there, going to Kora's house. Because so many people were going missing they had to be sure that her family was safe. But what would they do to protect them? Stay outside all through the night? She verbalized these questions and the three decided it would be wiser to seek help, causing Kora to change direction as they headed back toward the cave.

"Who should go in?" Avalon asked, looking at the other two. "Because, in all honesty, any of us would be risking our necks by going in there."

"She has a point," Calanon commented under his breath, looking annoyed. There were a few moments of silence that passed slowly before he finally decided. "I'll go in." Kora began to protest, but Sahale rested her hand on Kora's arm and shook her head. There was that proud look in her eyes again as she turned back to Calanon and nodded, letting him leave the car on his own. Now the girls would have to wait for him to return.

Calanon climbed out of the car, his heart pounding slightly faster than it normally would. He didn't know how he was going to succeed in doing this, or how many were in the cave at the moment, but he hoped it wasn't too many. He refused to glance back at the car as if that would be a sign of weakness or hesitation.

Sliding down the steep hill that led into the cave, he became wary in the dim light, as he usually did when he was here. He never knew who to trust. Cautiously, he made his way through the first set of doors that he knew led into the meeting room. Luckily, nobody was here. He breathed out a sigh of relief and jogged to the next door, pulling it open with a little more work, like Kora had done in the beginning. He remembered her well, having followed her to pretend that he had caught her so the others wouldn't slaughter her. At least he could have pride in saving one human. It hadn't just been luck on her side. He remembered waiting in the shadows, watching her press her whole body against this same door, fighting for her survival. Honestly, he admired that about her. She was brave and smart in these situations. She was wise in decision making as she always seemed to think things through, even if she were just a mere human. It honestly made him wonder what else she was capable of doing for herself. He'd seen her move more quickly than he'd expect of any human as she used her chains to force that coward, Adanion, to help release her. That, he had to admit, was the most impressive thing he had ever seen a human do.

"Calanon?" a woman's voice echoed through the next room. It was impossible for him to see who he was talking to from the terrible lighting, but the voice was familiar. "What are you doing here? You're banned from this place, traitor."

Calanon cursed himself mentally as he searched for her name in his mind. "Thana?"

The woman hissed in response. "Don't you dare tint my name, you snake."

"You know I can't turn my back on Sahale," Calanon told her, searching the darkness blindly. "She took me in and raised me."

"Out of pity!" Thana screeched. "That woman thinks she's a goddess; like she can save or kill anyone she pleases to."

"That's not true," Calanon argued. But maybe he spoke too soon, he realized. A thought appealed to him as she spoke once more.

"It isn't? Because last time I checked, she abandoned us. And for who? Humans?" Her voice was shrill with anger.

"Why do you think I came back here, Thana?" he snapped. "We fought this afternoon because I disagree with her reasoning."

There were a few minutes of silence. "You believe Kane is right?" she asked, her voice less intimidating.

"Yes," Calanon answered simply, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Prove it," Thana suddenly growled. Calanon was stuck.

"How do you expect me to do that?" he asked carefully, but only silence answered him. It wasn't but a few moments later that there was a rush of air to his right and he was suddenly knocked to the ground. A loud snarl rang out and echoed around the room before he was picked up by the collar of his shirt.

"You smell like a human," she snarled. "You liar!" He was thrown again, farther this time, and crashed into the cave wall. He grunted loudly as his back cracked against the solid rock. "Leave!"

Calanon pushed himself up from the ground and stumbled forward slightly. It was bad that he hadn't brought his sword with him. He was dealing with Kane's lover; the second in command and most fierce female he had ever met. He believed that she was even stronger than Kane. Her name did mean death, after all; one of the things she loved most.

"I'm sorry, Thana, but I can't do that. I have unfinished business here."

"Then die," she growled in a low voice. Calanon cursed and ran to the next room where it was light enough for him to see his opponent. Unlike elves and dwarves, vampires and faeries were able to see in the dark, similar to certain animals. Thana caught up to him at the door and flung herself at his backside, causing both of them to crash to the ground. Calanon reacted quickly, rolling onto his back with her under him and jerked his arm back, elbow out. It struck her in her ribcage as she hissed in pain. It wasn't a known fact that elves and vampires were nearly equal in strength.

She brought herself forward and wrapped her arms and legs around him. He rolled back over, trying to shake her off, but she leaned forward quickly and stabbed her fangs into his throat. Calanon cried out, but gathered himself quickly and grasped a handful of her hair, jerking as hard as he could until she let go. He ripped her hair out and she screamed and jumped away from him. He looked at the mass of thick, blond hair in his hand then back at her. She was feeling her head, eyes wide as she reacted like she had just lost something valuable and close to her.

"Calanon, you idiot!" she cried out in anger.

"It's your own fault, Thana," Calanon replied with a grin, shaking the handful of hair around tauntingly. She snarled and flung herself at him once more. Again, he grabbed for her hair and swung his arm around, leading her away from him as he flung her into a wall. Out came more hair.

Quickly, before she recovered and pulled herself up from the ground, Calanon made his way over to her lying figure and gave it a sharp kick. Again, she snarled and gave a cry of agony, making an odd sound Calanon hadn't heard in a long time. He hadn't been in a frenzy like this since he was young and to be honest, he was enjoying himself as he continued to kick her in the ribs. However, it wasn't long before she reached out in time to grasp his ankle and pull him to the ground with her, clawing at his face and chest wildly with rage, screaming. Her nails struck against his cheek and immediately he felt blood push its way up and out. He threw her off and stood.

Thana crashed against the floor a few feet away from him and laid there on her back. "Why do you want to go inside, Calanon?" Her voice was oddly calm now. To him, she'd always been crazy.

"I've already told you that," he said simply. He knew she didn't believe him, but he also knew that she wouldn't stop him now. The anger had flown out of her and she had enough proof to say that she had tried her best. It wasn't in her interest to die. Not today.

"I wonder how long Calanon is going to take," Kora mused from her seat in the car. "It's getting hot and boring in here. I might even get car sick."

"It shouldn't take him too long unless a lot of them are in there," Avalon answered, cleaning under her nails with a small dagger she'd picked from her belt of many other small daggers. Well, they looked more like throwing knives to Kora. "But there shouldn't be."

"Why do you say that?" Kora asked.

"Because," Avalon stated simply. "That's the schedule. No reason to ask about it if it isn't any of your business."

"I don't know if you've forgotten already, but you made it my business by dragging me into this." Kora gave Avalon a dirty look. She didn't think they would ever get along. Not as long as Kora was alive. She might even still curse Avalon while she was dead in her grave.

"You're the one who got yourself into this mess," Avalon said with no particular interest. "If you hadn't been driving so close to the cave, you wouldn't have gotten snatched away."

Kora became surprised. "I didn't even know there was a cave here! I never noticed it before, and I've driven through these woods a million times," she defended.

"Way to be observant." Avalon rolled her eyes, putting the small dagger away. Kora crossed her arms and sat back in her seat, wanting Avalon to disappear.

"I'll be happy to see the day you die!" Thana called after Calanon as he left the room. He ignored her, taking pride that he had won their little duel. He wasn't even really sure why she was here today. They were supposed to be out hunting by now. Then again, they had been killing so frequently and carelessly lately that it wouldn't matter to them when they hunted anymore.

Calanon came to a tricky part of the cave he had learned very well during his stay here. If he turned to his far left, he would end up where the prisoners stayed. His far right would take him to a complicated labyrinth of sorts. He wasn't really sure why that was there and had never attempted to go through it. However, he had heard that the dwarves lived at the other side of it. Apparently they had made the labyrinth to confuse the other races to protect themselves. Calanon had also heard that it was full of traps; amazingly hard to get through, even for an elf or vampire.

However, the other three middle passages were of no use to them as they were rooms that he had already used or explored and he definitely didn't feel like fighting anyone else. Slowly, he turned to the far left passage again. It was a possibility that others could be there again, like Kora had been, but he doubted it. There would be no more prisoners unless Kane felt like putting on a show for everyone. That type of "entertainment" wasn't what Calanon had ever taken a liking to. In fact, he found it hard to believe that anyone would enjoy watching a helpless, innocent being—human or not—be tortured and killed; even eaten alive on some occasions, just bit by bit. Their arms would be sliced, followed by the rest of their body, and then they would be hung and drained of their blood slowly.

Calanon shuddered and turned back toward the labyrinth. Even if elves did enjoy human blood, it was like a sweet desert; they didn't need it to survive as badly as vampires or faeries did. Then again, it was how the creature looked at it. He was the type to conserve blood as a treat because elves had the option of eating normal food or plants of some kind. Animals were even appetizing on occasion.

His first few steps into the labyrinth proved already what the others had been talking about. A few spikes came up from the ground just before him as Calanon accidentally stepped on what looked like a flat stone that was resting on the ground. "Whoa!" He jumped over a few of them and ducked under a few swinging maces that were just ahead. Already, he had triggered too many traps. At this rate, he would only be running blindly through the labyrinth. He hoped he didn't take too long.

There was a loud crash nearby. "Something's happening," Sahale stated, turning her head to gaze in the direction of the sound. "Let's go."

"Roger that," Kora muttered, starting the car and putting it in drive.

While the car sped off, another crash sounded from behind them. Something crashed up through the ground just where the car had been. Kora stopped the car immediately. "What—"

"No!" Sahale yelled. "Don't stop!" Kora was taken by surprise, but she didn't hesitate to put the car back into drive and slam her foot down on the gas petal.

"What's happening?" Kora yelled in the commotion. "You never said anything about this happening!"

"I never expected it to!" Sahale returned, gripping the seat with her hands. The car hit several bushes, leaves scraping against the windows as the car sped past trees. Again, another crash came up just behind the car. "They're targeting us!"

The three screamed as the car was suddenly lifted to one side, an explosion erupting just to the left of them. It rolled over several times and crashed into a tree. "Kora…" Sahale called breathlessly. "Kora!"

Avalon groaned and moved in her seat. The car's roof had planted itself against the tree trunk. "We have to keep moving, Sahale…" She wiped blood from her head and kicked the door open as it was jammed. The whole door popped off and crashed to the ground just below. There was only enough room for her to crawl out. "Give me Kora."

Sahale did so and watched as Avalon hauled Kora's unconscious body from the car. She felt some warm liquid running down her throat and wiped her hand across her jaw. The window that she sat next to had been busted and now she had various cuts along her body. She ignored the pain and followed Avalon out of the car after climbing into the backseat.

Just in time, as the three had made it several yards away, the car, the tree, and the ground below it exploded. "What are they using..?" Sahale wondered aloud.

"No time," Avalon answered breathlessly. "We have to hurry." Kora was slung over Avalon's shoulder, a massive gash running along her forearm. "We need to get her to a hospital where it's safer."

Calanon paused for a moment as he felt vibrations under his feet. The cave walls rumbled with the aftermath of a large explosion. That couldn't have been good, he thought to himself. I hope Sahale is okay. Two more followed that as he kept running. The vibrations triggered several more traps spontaneously. Just my luck.

Calanon ran faster. I have to find a way. Looking about as he ran, he caught sight of more swinging maces. There, he thought before picking up speed. Quickly, he ran up the wall and jumped for the first mace, taking hold and jerking until it broke away and he fell to the ground with it. Panting, he looked at it, holding it in both hands. He needed a faster way out, and this was the key. Again, he ran forward, swinging at things that got in his way until he reached a wall. Wildly and swiftly, he swung his mace as hard as he could until the mace collided with the wall. It broke as a gaping hole showed another hallway similar to this one. It was better than making random turns though, he had to admit. He swung again to widen the hole and crawled through quickly.

The three had just barely escaped the last explosion by a yard as Avalon and Sahale jumped high into the air and landed smoothly, dashing forward again. They were nearing the clearing of the forest when they were suddenly stopped by a group of faeries. They hissed, their sharp teeth exposed and their large, black eyes wild with hunger and excitement. "Hold it right there," a smug voice sounded from a tree above. The two looked up at who was stopping them.

"Elian!" Avalon yelled as she was the first one to see the female standing in the tree. "That damn woman," she muttered under her breath.

"You know her?" Sahale questioned.

"Yeah, she has a thing about killing the vampire race," Avalon mused.

"You talk about it like it's a joke!" Elian yelled. She was holding something in her hands that looked something like a long pole. "Without you or any of the others, we can finally have the Earth to ourselves."

"So this is another mission all on its own. She isn't with Kane," Sahale said slowly. It was only an assumption.

"Wrong," Avalon said, shaking her head.

"Wrong indeed!" Elian seemed to take pride in that fact. "And better still. I have access to military bases and weapons like this!" She held up whatever it was that she had in her hands. "This here is called a missile launcher." Her smile was smug.

"So you were the one," Sahale observed.

"Yes!" Elian laughed. "And now I've come to finish the job." Her eyes turned dark, reminding Sahale of Kane during one of his twisted rants. Elian pulled out two guns after placing her first weapon down beside her on the thick branch. "You die here."

Calanon dodged through another wall. "That was close," he panted as he kneeled on the ground. Looking down at his hands, he realized he had set yet another trap. He cursed himself and picked himself up off the ground. But this time there weren't any swinging maces, spikes, or arrows. The floor didn't cave in, and there were no spikes overhead either. Calanon looked around as he became wary.

Nearby, he heard a soft rumbling noise. It sounded as if the cave walls were moving, grinding against itself. He stood there a moment, unsure of what to do or how to react. A moment later, it stopped. Calanon's heart pounded as he waited, but nothing was happening. Finally, he decided to step forward.

As he walked down the pathway, he heard soft growling. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he became nervous. He thought he must be getting closer to the end of the labyrinth if they sent a monster to attack any stranger who didn't know their way around. The growling became a loud roaring as the creature moved away from the darkness and into the tunnel that Calanon stood in. It looked like a huge, huge version of a wolf; even bigger than Calanon.

Calanon held up the giant mace with both hands, preparing for a fight. He began to wonder how the dwarves had even found something like this and had been able to control it, let alone get it through the tunnels of the cave without anyone else noticing. Then again, they might have pulled it along from their side of the cave, before it was attached to the Elder's cave side. If Calanon remembered correctly, this was a mountain. On one side was the Elder's cave, and somehow the dwarves had chosen to stay on the other side of the same mountain by chance.

"Elf," the beast growled in a deep voice. "What brings you here?"

"I need to speak with the dwarves," Calanon answered, trying not to stutter. He wasn't as afraid as he was confused now. The wolf was speaking; it wasn't something anyone would see every day. Even if Calanon was an elf, he never actually lived with his kind, considering his past troubles with his family and being raised by Sahale.

The wolf looked at him expectantly. Calanon stared back at the wolf for a few moments before he seemed to get what was going on. "I need to speak with the dwarves about Kane. I know a few of them are against the idea of ruining the world as it is."

The wolf barked a little laugh. "A few of them is wrong, boy."

"And you're with them on that?" Calanon guessed, lowering his mace.

"Yes," the wolf said soberly. "What is your name?"

"Calanon," he answered. "I don't know my last name. I was abandoned as a child."

"It's you," the wolf said knowingly. "The dwarves have spoken to me about you."

"What should I call you?" Calanon asked, relieved that he wouldn't have to fight whatever this wolf was called.

"My name, you ask," the wolf said wisely. "You will call me Raginmund."

"Raginmund," Calanon repeated, sounding out the word.

"Or wise protector, as the name means," the wolf said with a sort of grin. He did look wise too, as his fur was a grey color with spots of brown over his face where his eyes rested. They looked like a dull silver; not as lively as they might have once been.

Calanon nodded. "You protect the dwarves," he guessed. It wasn't often that there wasn't an animal protector of each race. He had heard many times that the vampires' creature was the snake and the elves' was the griffin; something he still had yet to see with his own eyes.

"I also advise them," Raginmund continued. There was a long pause of silence before the wolf spoke once more. "You tell the truth, so you will ride my back the rest of the way." Calanon nodded and grabbed hold of the large wolf's soft fur and climbed up to his back. He rested there on the wolf's back as it began to walk in the direction of the dwarves' cave.

Elian lay on the ground, having fallen out of the tree. In her rib, one of Avalon's blades was stuck deep inside. Blood was emerging and soaking the woman's shirt as she cringed, sweating and panting from the pain that throbbed within her.

"I told you that it was impossible to win against me," Avalon grunted as she pulled her blade from the woman's rib. More blood came out with it and spattered against Avalon's bare legs and skirt.

"You," Elian choked. "You will see the end of your days very soon." Blood was dripping out the corner of Elian's mouth as she spoke. "Kane will destroy the humans like the idiot he is and you will starve!"

"I think I ought to put you out of your misery," Avalon said, looking at her long time enemy. "I've been waiting for this day."

"I hope you enjoy it as much as I will," Elian sputtered as Avalon lifted her blade in the air over her head.

"Trust me," Avalon returned with a smile. "I will." With that, she swung her sword down as hard as she could. The blade sliced through Elian's throat and more blood spattered everywhere. Avalon brought her hand to her mouth and licked a spot of blood from it, looking down at her enemy. "She's out of her misery now."

"So she is," Sahale examined. Behind her there was a mass of faery bodies, bloodied from a brutal battle with Sahale. "We need to go now."

"Not before I take these babies," Avalon said with a grin that spread from ear to ear as she picked up the two guns Elian had been using. "I've always been fascinated with human weaponry." She aimed at a nearby tree and pulled the trigger. The sound she loved most rang out and filled her with joys that she only knew while being violent.

Sahale was already picking Kora up from the ground. There was blood on her hip and a few other places, along with the massive gash along her arm. Glancing back at Avalon, she wondered how she had managed to avoid biting Kora. A lot of it was dried, but it wasn't going to stop bleeding any time soon. Sahale decided to tear the bottom of her tank top off and wrap it around as much of the wound as she could. "Avalon, come here." Avalon, who was still holding up her guns, walked over and stood there.

"Yeah?"

"I need to use your skirt." Before Avalon could ask anything or object, Sahale ripped the lower half of skirt off and started wrapping the rest of Kora's arm. "There." Sahale picked her up and the three started walking back into town from the forest.

"Calanon!" a short, bulky dwarf greeted from a massive gate as the wolf approached. The dwarf tilted his head in respect for the wolf next. "Raginmund."

The wolf tilted his head forward in reply. Calanon slid down off the wolf's back, landing on his feet. "Lond," Calanon greeted. He knew this dwarf from the meeting that had been held only a short while ago. He'd been sitting next to the dwarf that had spoken out against Kane, and in the end had backed down because he had been threatened; the whole race had been threatened.

"I've been told that all of you don't support Kane," Calanon started.

Lond nodded, his eyes looking tired and wary. "Aye and we heard that ye turned your back on him." Calanon hadn't heard the dwarf's accent for a long time. A lot of them sounded similar, and they talked like they weren't living in the twentieth century. The accent sounded near Scottish, and it was a coincidence that a lot of them also had red colored hair. They were all stalky, bulky, and their heights ranged anywhere from four to five feet.

"I was never on his side to begin with, Lond. Not as long as Sahale is against his ideals." Calanon looked at the massive gate. "Do you mind leaving your post long enough to have a meeting?"

The dwarf looked up at him. "Ye have a plan, then."

"I ask for support, and then we will form a plan with Sahale and Avalon."

"Avalon?" The dwarf became wary. "She's never liked dwarves."

"I know, but we'll all have to set aside our differences." Calanon knew that dwarves had problems with elves. However, growing up in the streets and living with a special breed such as Sahale had its benefits and opportunities.

"Very well," Lond sighed before opening the gates. The wolf followed the two inside as the gates were hurriedly closed once more behind them. "Go to the meeting house just down the lane there and I'll have the men gathered."

Calanon did as he was told, walking beside Ruginmund. "How long have you been with them?" he asked.

"Too many decades to count," the wolf replied with a tired voice. "And I'll continue to do so for several more decades."

Calanon nodded. "I understand." He felt the same way for Sahale. If she needed him until the day he died, that's what he would do. It didn't matter if what she wanted was right or wrong; he would follow her lead no matter the circumstances.

"Do you?" the wolf asked in a gruff voice.

"Yes," Calanon answered. That was all the wolf felt he had to ask.

Nurses were scurrying left and right as Sahale and Avalon waited in the room where Kora lay on the bed. Their bandages had already been applied; the doctor had been amazed they were still conscious after the amount of blood they had lost. To them it was like a miracle, and to Avalon and Sahale, that was a good enough reason as long as they didn't have to say anything else.

It was hard to think of a reason why or how they ended up like this, but the doctor didn't push them to tell him how or why in the end. He was a kind human, and he seemed to love what he did. "I like saving peoples' lives. I like watching them be reunited with their families and leave here happily. A lot of families come back to see me later on and thank me. To me, that just makes the best feeling in the world," he told them as he cleaned Kora's arm.

"What does it feel like watching your patients die?" Avalon asked in a low and curious voice. She wasn't trying to be inconsiderate, but it may have come across that way.

The doctor still answered her question, despite the look he gave her or how uncomfortable that question seemed to make him feel. "I feel like I've failed. I have to watch the life leave their eyes, or hear their heartbeat die out. It's the worst possible feeling anyone could have," he answered solemnly. Avalon nodded, seeming to understand. She would have felt that way too if she were still human. "But I pray for them," the doctor continued after sighing softly. He was threading the needle as he spoke. "I pray that they go to heaven, or where they want to go after death, and I pray that they're happier there."

"That's good," Avalon agreed. "Then they won't have to suffer anymore.

What Avalon said struck Sahale. She thought she knew her friend better than that. Avalon wasn't religious, but she believed that no one—no matter what sins they may have committed—should have to suffer too long for them. Sahale remembered as Avalon had said that her enemy, Elian, didn't have to suffer anymore. So that was how she felt, even about her enemies, Sahale realized. She smiled as she looked at her dear, old friend.

Kora became restless while she was unconscious, seeming to have been woken from any dreams she might have been having. Just as the doctor was pulling the needle and thread through her skin, her eyes popped open. "What are you doing?" she asked frantically. Avalon and Sahale moved quickly to her sides and held her down before she sat up. "No! Stop!" Kora cried out, screaming.

"Calm down!" Sahale ordered. "We're in the hospital." Her hand was holding her uninjured arm down firmly.

Kora's muscles loosened as she blinked a few times and she saw Sahale and Avalon above her. "What happened?"

"The car flipped into a tree," Sahale answered.

Kora became upset. "That car wasn't even that old. It was a birthday present last year and now it's ruined because of your stupid problems."

"I need to finish this," the doctor cut in, holding up the needle. He didn't mean to scare her, but Kora reacted badly, trying to pull away. That was a mistake as the thread pulled at her skin and she winced. "Hold still," he commanded, grasping her lower arm. She did as she was told, although it was obvious that she wasn't enjoying it at all.

Avalon led Sahale out of the room not five minutes later. Sahale glanced back at Kora, who was pouting as she looked away from the work being done on her arm. The doctor was trying his best to keep her thoughts occupied with conversation about her family and graduation, but it was in vain.

"What are we going to do about Calanon?" she asked Sahale, her eyes showing concern.

"I've been thinking about that," Sahale admitted. "If we don't make it back to my home before he does, then he will know to wait. When or if he sees the car, then he will know that something has happened and will figure something out from there."

"Should I go back before you and Kora? Just to make sure that he doesn't flip out?" To Sahale's surprise, Avalon actually acted like she cared about something. Avalon was always the type to make fun of the situations at hand and treat them as if they were no problem. It was like swatting away a fly to this woman. But now it was different for her. She seemed to understand the importance of the situation and was looking forward to helping as best as she could.

With this in mind, Sahale nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. But be careful," she warned. The two hugged briefly and parted ways.

The massive group of dwarves sitting around the table in the meeting room pounded their fists on the table in a rhythm. Calanon was standing at the front of the table with his arms held up as if to silence them, but it didn't help the situation. He sighed and looked to his friend, Lond.

Lond understood the situation perfectly and put his fingers to his mouth, whistling rather loudly. The group quieted down then and stared at them. A lot of murmuring started as they studied Calanon. The word "elf" was mentioned several times.

"I need everyone's attention, please," Calanon called out. The room went silent in response. "Thank you," he muttered before clearing his voice. "I want the dwarves to join forces with Sahale's group. We are fighting for the lives of the human race, and therefore, our own."

"How do ye expect to do that?" A gruff voice asked. Calanon didn't see the man who had spoken, but he answered anyway.

"We may wage war."

To this, the dwarves hooted and shouted. Dwarves were known best for war as it was similar to a hobby to them. They liked the idea of "kill or be killed" and swung their hammers at not only their enemies, but each other as well. They were also known for loving their alcohol, so Calanon had prepared himself by ordering enough to go around the room. They cheered him on as he continued with the ideas of war.

After the meeting, Calanon had sat close to Raginmund on the floor. "Do you think waging war will solve the problem?" the wolf asked.

To be honest, Calanon wasn't sure. "A lot of men will die, but Kane needs to go somehow, and he has too many others protecting him. This might be our only chance." He looked nearly helpless as he thought about their situation. "What do you think should be done?"

"I don't have that right," Raginmund answered. "I can't make your decisions for you."

"I don't want you to make the decision for me. I just want your opinion," Calanon argued.

"No," Raginmund stated firmly. "You want my opinion because you look to be swayed. You're unsure of what to do." Calanon cursed the wolf mentally because he knew that it was right.


	10. Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Kora woke in a soft bed. It didn't feel like her bed, but it also didn't feel like Sahale's cot either. She recognized the feel of it after a few more moments and remembered that she was in a hospital. Her arm had gotten stitched up just the day before. She sat up slowly and looked around her. Sahale was sleeping in a chair nearby, or Kora thought she was. She wasn't sure if vampires really slept or not. She decided to ask instead of being clueless. "Sahale?"

There was a moment of silence. "Yes, Kora?"

"Do vampires sleep?" It seemed like a silly question now as she said it aloud, but Kora was still curious.

Sahale chuckled softly and shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not, Kora." She laid back in her chair, making herself more comfortable. "But I'm not like other vampires, so I need sleep."

Kora cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean by that anyway?" She remembered Sahale saying that once before, only yesterday in her tree house.

"It's a secret," Sahale teased, pressing her index finger gently to her own lips. She winked at Kora. "Get some rest. You're not ready to go back out yet."

"Where did Avalon go?" Kora asked, ignoring Sahale's advice.

"She went to wait on Calanon. She'll be fine. Now go to sleep," Sahale said more gently.

"Wake me when they get here?" Kora asked as she was closing her eyes and laying back on her bed.

"Of course," she heard Sahale murmur as she fell back into unconsciousness.

Not an hour later, the doctor entered the room with a clip board and pen, as they all usually carried. "We have some medication for her to take," he explained as Sahale looked at him for an explanation.

"I'll have her take it when she wakes up," Sahale replied, closing her eyes again.

"I'm afraid she has to take it now," the doctor interrupted once more. A nurse was accompanying him into the room. She had the usual rack of sorts with her that they used when they needed to check your blood pressure.

Sahale's eyes narrowed slightly, but she nodded. "Fine, fine, you can give her the medication. But don't bother her for too long; she needs her rest."

The doctor nodded and sat on his chair beside the patient bed. "What is your relation to her?"

"I'm her aunt. My name is Sahale Sky." Her eyes pierced his, almost as if she were daring him to ask for any more information. She just wanted him to get it done and get out.

Calanon woke with a start as some clanging echoed around the stone walls of the room. After he had his talk with Raginmund, he remembered that the wolf had gone back to his place in the labyrinth. Calanon had nowhere to go from there until Lond came back with two other dwarves. They invited him to stay the night with them, so he did.

Now he opened his eyes and sat up to see his friend banging a rather large hammer against some metal. "What time is it?" he asked Lond.

Lond didn't answer for a few minutes as he examined his work. Calanon was beginning to think that the dwarf hadn't heard him the first time, but as he was about to repeat himself, the dwarf spoke. "Early morning, lad," he answered in his usual gruff voice. "Breakfast is on the table." Lond nodded his head toward the kitchen area where a steaming bowl sat.

"Thanks, friend," Calanon said appreciatively before standing. He stretched his arms out and made his way to the table, but when he sat down, the stew didn't look nearly as pleasant. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's rabbit stew; very good for ye." Lond was giving him a look that told him to eat the stew for his own good. Calanon looked back at his stew for several moments. There wasn't any spoon that rested on the table to eat with, so he held the bowl up to his lips. The smell of the stew wafted into his nostrils, filling them, and he became wary of the smell. Tilting the bowl further, he was prepared to gulp it down and get it over with. To reject food was considered offensive to most races. Even humans, as Calanon understood it. He had seen something Kora called "television" at the mall, where a woman had given someone food that didn't look appetizing in the slightest, but the man forced himself to eat it anyhow.

However, to his surprise, the stew didn't taste as bad as it looked or smelled. He set his bowl down and waited a while for the after taste, but that wasn't bad either. Lond's wife walked into the kitchen and gave Calanon a look of surprise. "So ye like it, eh?" she asked with a chuckle. Calanon smiled in reply before holding the bowl to his lips once more. "I'll give ye some milk too, fresh from the cow," she added, turning to leave again. Calanon finished his stew in time for her to bring the milk back, which he didn't hesitate to try this time. His tastes didn't settle as well with the milk as they did with the stew, but he drank it quickly anyhow and murmured his thanks.

After breakfast, Calanon joined Lond while he continued to pound away at metal and examine them. It might have been luck that his friend made armor, and apparently the other two dwarves he had met the night before made weapons. They were three skilled craftsmen who would be vital for the war that would happen shortly. "The twins," he began as his friend set down his hammer to examine the metal once more. "I never got their names."

"Aye I forgot to introduce ye properly with all the excitement," Lond agreed. He was silent a few more moments as he ran his finger over a groove in the metal. "Thal and Kral."

Calanon never understood dwarves' names or their way of life, but he didn't bother to ask. It would be meaningless to want to know information that wouldn't be worthwhile in the future. He knew all he needed as dwarves felt proud about their wars. They felt pride with every enemy they struck down, and they were fearless in battle. Even for their lack of height, they were fearsome. The only weakness Calanon ever saw with them was the need for their rum nearly every hour as it was also something that they were well known for.

"They seemed like good men," Calanon complimented, attempting to make conversation.

"Aye, they are. But wee little men too," Lond chuckled. "They are still young."

Calanon could never tell the difference from men and boys with dwarves. They all acted alike and had the same beliefs it seemed like. "I would have never guessed. How old are they?"

"Barely fifteen," Lond answered.

Calanon knew that Lond was thirty, so why was he friends with others who were so young? "Are you related?" he asked.

"Nay," he answered before pounding at the metal with his hammer once more. "My friend's sons, they are."

"They work with you," Calanon guessed, looking around the room. There were two massive work desks made of stone similar to the one Lond was working at. They all made a circle around a fire pit and a few barrels of water.

"Aye," Lond answered. "Make yourself known by the townspeople. They need to trust you," he advised a few minutes later after a long silence between the two. Calanon nodded and left his friend to his work, not wanting to feel like a burden. He hated feeling like he was in the way of work being done.

Exploring the town, he stopped at markets and conversed with the dwarves there, noting the small variety of accents and physical features around him. The women looked different than the men as they were less muscular and looked like thick wives. Their hair was usually long, wild, and curly or wavy and their noses were smaller than the men's were. Most of them wore aprons, but as far as Calanon could tell, the women were just as excited about war as the men. The single women were slightly thinner than the others and sported armor or leather suits. It also seemed that they all carried with them some type of weapon. They held onto those like children held onto their stuffed animals or favorite blanket.

"But you're so puny!" a woman laughed, holding onto his arm. "Ye maybe tall, lad, but you're nowhere near as strong as even us women."

Calanon had to try his hardest not to snap back at the woman. "You don't know that," he protested calmly.

"I challenge ye to a battle of sorts," she said. "What's your name, lad?"

"Calanon." He knew that he couldn't refuse the challenge or he would be disrespecting his honor. The dwarves also had the belief that they had to fight for that honor and protect their ancestor's honor as well. If they lost a challenge, they would rather die than live on and taint the honor of their ancestors. "I accept, but who is my challenger?"

"Bifrost," she answered. "Gather your weapons and wear your armor. We will fight!" She pounded her chest like Calanon had seen so many dwarves do before and after battle. Others around them cheered and pounded their chests as well.

"Good for ye, lad!" Lond thundered happily as he pounded Calanon on the back from where he sat. Calanon nearly choked on his lunch. "Ye accepted a challenge, eh? Good way to earn ye honor." He nodded to himself and smiled at Calanon looking proud. "Your ancestors will praise ye, lad."

"Thanks," Calanon said after gasping for air. Only an hour had passed since he accepted the challenge. Word had spread quickly, so when he went back to Lond's house, he was greeted by the wife, who insisted he had a good lunch before his fight. Instead of milk, he got water this time. It tasted better; similar to the water from the river Sahale lived next to.

"We need to get ye some armor." Lond looked up and down Calanon's body. Calanon knew that look well and could practically read the dwarf's mind. He knew that his friend was thinking how scrawny he was, but he couldn't help that he was an elf. That happened to be one of the things that dwarves and elves didn't understand about each other. To elves, dwarves didn't look or act that appealing. It was the same with dwarves as they criticized elves.

Another hour passed and he was wearing his armor with a thick type of leather underneath. Calanon wondered briefly how long the dwarves actually needed to prepare for their battles. "Ye look good, lad," Lond complimented. Calanon nodded as a silent way of thanking his friend. "Even if ye are skinny as a stick." It came out as a joke and Calanon understood that. He smiled at his friend before tying his sword to his waist loosely. "I made something for ye," Lond said just as Calanon was starting to walk away.

"What is it?" Calanon asked, walking toward his friend.

Lond walked to a nearby table and reached behind it. Calanon watched as Lond held a fine looking shield out for him to take. "To help ye in your battles," Lond murmured, looking at his work. This must have been the same metal he had been working on so diligently this morning. "I was going to give it to ye later, before we went to war. But ye need it more now."

Calanon smiled again, admiring the shield as he tried it on his arm. "It will do me good," he replied. "Thank you, Lond."

"Nay." Lond shook his head. "No need to thank me, lad. You're doing good for us." Calanon nodded and they parted ways as he made his way into the room where he would wait to enter the arena.

"Good luck, lad," a nearby dwarf spoke to him. Calanon nodded once more and waited for the gate to rise.

It had already been half a day since the doctor came into Kora's room. They had been going in and out ever since then, despite Sahale's requests to leave them alone. However, Kora was now awake and feeling well enough to move about on her own. The doctors still warned her not to overdo it or her stitches would loosen or tear. Sahale gave her thanks on her way out of the hospital.

"Are we going to see Avalon and Calanon now?" Kora asked as they walked out of the parking lot.

"Not yet," Sahale answered quietly. "We need to check on your family."

The thought hadn't crossed Kora's mind since the incident in her car. Now that she thought about it, how was she going to explain what happened to the car to her mother? She could picture her mother screaming her head off over the expense now. To be honest, it made her shudder a little. Still, she hoped that her mother and brother were okay. Since it was summer time, both of them should be home a lot more often. Kora could see how that might cause problems for whoever was going to look after them if one of them were to leave and the other one stayed in the house, so it being summer was a plus.

Not only that, but Kora was glad that she had graduated and that it was summer. If she were still in school, her attendance would have been severely screwed up by now. It was because of her mother's position as vice principal that Kora always had to be a good student and set a positive example for other students at her school. Since her first day in preschool, she always had perfect attendance. Unless she was too sick to get out of bed, she never skipped a day. Her mother's job also reflected Kora's grades as they were always straight A's, and she was also a popular girl with the other students. She didn't have to act snobby like the girls in the movies did, but she just treated other students nicely and helped them with their homework.

However, that didn't mean that she skipped out on parties; she loved parties. Even with drugs or alcohol at the parties, since she attended prom her junior year she started drinking. She wasn't an alcoholic though, or anything remotely close to that. She only drank on social occasions such as those parties. She also never touched any drug in her life besides cigarettes, and those were a social habit as well.

"We're going to need a new car." Sahale's voice cut through Kora's reverie and dragged her back to reality.

"Yeah. I know where we can get one," Kora said absently. Sally's house wasn't more than a block away from the hospital, and they happened to be walking that way.

"Kora!" Sally called to her friend. Luckily, she was at home, hanging out in her yard. She was sitting in a lawn chair with her bikini on, tanning.

"Hey, Sally." Kora looked around for Faelon, but couldn't see him. "Still have that stalker?"

"I don't see him as much," Sally said, shading her eyes with her hand. "But maybe he just got better at it," she joked.

Kora laughed a little. "Yeah." Sally was smiling, but the silence that followed felt awkward and uncomfortable. This was something that rarely happened between them. "What have you been up to anyway? Other than tinting your skin orange," she teased.

It was true too. Whenever Sally tanned, her skin looked like an orange-brown sort of color. It was awkward and didn't look right with her hair or eye color at all. In Kora's opinion, Sally looked better in the winter when she was pale and fair skinned. "Oh, quiet," Sally laughed. "I've been shopping and blowing up your phone."

"Oh, you have?" Kora looked at her friend apologetically. "I'm sorry. I don't have it with me and I haven't been at home lately."

"I heard about that. Your mom thinks you're tripping because of Michael." Her friend's words stung, but she looked apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." She sat forward and offered Kora a hug, which Kora gladly took. No matter how hard Kora tried to forget, she always had that thought of Michael in the back of her mind. She was always seeing his lifeless eyes staring at her.

"When is the funeral?" Kora asked, trying to put on a brave face. She didn't want Sahale to see her cry for some reason. She liked the way Sahale looked at Calanon when he was brave. She wanted to be brave for Sahale too for some reason that she wasn't quite sure of yet. Whatever the case, she was beginning to feel closer to the three of them after the last few days.

"Next week on Sunday," Sally answered. There was another long passing of silence, but it didn't feel awkward. It was more like mentally mourning Michael; like giving him that moment of silence that he deserved. "Look, if there's anything you need, Kora, just ask."

"There is," Kora said softly. "Can I borrow your car? Just for today."

"What happened to yours?" Sally asked.

"I got in an accident." When she saw the look her friend was giving her, she rushed to give an excuse. "It wasn't my fault though. Someone just plowed right into me."

"Oh, that idiot," her friend snorted, rolling her eyes. "I can't stand people who can't drive worth crap." That was true, as Kora recalled several occasions where Sally would give other drivers the bird or throw long lines of curses at them. "Okay, you can borrow it. Just be careful." Her friend gave her another tight hug and said goodbye after handing over the keys. Kora thanked her and the two were on their way to her house once again.

When the car pulled up to the house, they waited a few moments before Kora turned the engine off, as if they were waiting for something to happen. Kora didn't doubt that others were here waiting for them like they had been waiting for her just two nights before. It felt more like last night that she had been sleeping at Sahale's tree house. Time was passing by quickly since all of this had started.

"Let's go in," Sahale suggested, patting Kora's hand where it laid on the arm rest. Kora nodded and the two got out of the car and made their way up to the house. Kora opened the door and walked inside cautiously as Sahale followed her.

"Mom?" she called out. "Jonathan?"

Some loud footsteps sounded from the kitchen, drawing their attention. A bag was opened and rummaged through as her brother stepped into the hallway. He pulled his hand out of the bag and popped a few cheese puffs into his mouth. "Hey, Kora. Where have you been?"

"With my friend," Kora answered smoothly, gesturing to Sahale. Sahale took her cue and nodded her head once. Kora knew it was a respectful greeting to her, but she thought it would have been more normal for her to say something as simple as "hey" and be done with it. She could have at least waved instead of nodding her head like she was a shy teenager with a crush on Kora's brother. "Where's mom?"

"She was called into work for a meeting," Jonathan answered. His hair was a mess and he was wearing a grey tee shirt with blue shorts and socks that hung off his toes. Kora couldn't help but roll her eyes at her brother's sloppiness. That part of him was always hidden pretty well during the school year, considering the image he had to uphold like Kora did. No child of their mother's was going to have anything below an A or God only knew what would happen. Kora remembered her first low grade being a C, and her mother had went ballistic as if the world was about to end.

"Oh, okay. Will you tell her I was here?" Kora had her hands in her pockets. She realized that she must look like a mess too and glanced toward the stairs. "I'm going to grab some things and I'll be on my way again."

"Yeah, I'll let her know," Jonathan said between bites. "How long are you going to be gone?"

"I'm not sure. I'll come check in with mom tomorrow or something if I can."

Her brother gave her a funny look. "Is that blood on your clothes?"

Kora's face started burning immediately. She knew that if he found out that she had crashed the car—her fault or not—she would never live it down. He would drive her up the wall, teasing how the "perfect student" finally screwed up big time.

"It's nothing." She scrambled up the steps before he could ask her anything else.

Calanon bolted back up from his position on the ground. So far in the battle he had been struggling. Dwarves really took their fighting seriously and this particular woman was determined not to lose. She let out a battle cry and swung her massive sword at Calanon. Her sword was as nearly as long as her body and she needed both hands to wield it, therefore it was also her shield. Calanon was prepared this time and blocked her swing with his new shield. He was glad that Lond had given this to him otherwise he would have been dead a long time ago.

The crowd around them cheered as they circled in the middle of the arena. Already, Calanon had a busted lip and a cut on his stomach. The pain had subsided, however, due to the excitement of the fight. Besides that, he was also able to make a cut along the woman's thigh. She had a slight limp when she walked, but Calanon supposed that the fight wouldn't end until one of them was dead. The problem was he didn't want to kill a dwarf because he needed them to help to win against Kane and his followers. However, he also didn't want to be the one to die because Sahale needed him, and with him gone, Kane wouldn't be defeated unless the dwarves met with Sahale on their own, but he needed to prove his strength to them and earn respect. This felt like a big contradiction to him.

Again, Bifrost moved first as she gave another holler and swung her sword from the left. Calanon was quick to dodge it as he rolled forward on the ground and sliced her other leg with his sword. Bifrost roared and stabbed her sword into the ground, barely missing Calanon's foot.

Suddenly a loud horn blew. Bifrost distanced herself from Calanon, looking alarmed. The crowd was reacting in a similar manner as a loud murmuring spread throughout the stands. "What's going on?" Calanon asked his opponent.

"It's the alarm," she explained, looking distracted. Her eyes were narrowed as if she suspected trouble.

Lowering his sword, Calanon looked back at the gate, which was opening. Unexpectedly, Kane and a few other vampires stepped in the arena. Thana was close behind him, glaring at Calanon. Calanon nearly choked as he tried not to laugh at the visible bald spots on her head where he had ripped out her hair. That didn't seem to be something that Kane wanted to see. He loved the look of fear, not amusement. It came off as a sort of disrespect and angered him often times.

"Calanon." His voice was sharp with anger. "How dare you put your hands on my significant other?"

"She shouldn't have tried to stop me. I had business with the dwarves, not her." Calanon's voice was fierce with defiance. It was something that Kane absolutely hated.

"I don't care about your situation, you traitor! You've come here to turn the dwarves against me, have you not?" Kane exposed his fangs as a sort of threat.

"I only came here to settle terms," Calanon answered. His voice didn't waver and he didn't blink as he spoke.

"Obviously," Kane hissed, gesturing toward the two. "He walked closer to Calanon. "You're going to finish the battle with Thana and you will die." His eyes burned with hatred as he gaze met Calanon's.

After Kora had finished her shower and gotten into clean clothes, she let Sahale do the same. She sighed as she looked at the blood spattered clothing. The jeans she had been wearing were brand new and now they were ruined. She tossed them into the trash can in the kitchen and grabbed a can of fruit to snack on until Sahale was finished in the shower. As she was passing the fridge, a note caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks and stared at it for a few moments.

Kora,

I stopped by this morning to see if anyone was here, and all seems well. I've been able to enter that place without any problem and there's a rumor going around that Calanon went to see the little people. Also, they say that Kane will be going after him shortly for supposedly attacking Thana, his lover. Come to the cave ASAP and we'll meet to end this. I left something for you under your pillow.

Avalon

Kora guessed that Avalon had to change a few words in case her mother or brother read it by chance. She guessed that the first line meant that Avalon had checked on her family to see if they were still alive. When she said "that place," she must have meant the cave, considering there was a mention of Kane and Calanon. "Little people" could have only meant dwarves, as they were the shortest of the races. She plucked the note from the fridge and shoved it in her pocket.

She then made her way back to her room and picked up her pillow, but jumped back as soon as she had laid eyes on what was hidden underneath. Avalon had left her two guns—dual pistols. Kora silently wondered where Avalon had gotten them, but then again, she didn't want to know.

"Those look like the same guns Avalon had yesterday." Sahale's voice made Kora jump.

"Yeah. And she left this note," Kora mumbled, pulling the paper out of her pocket and handing it to Sahale.

Sahale took a moment to read it and looked at the guns. "We're going to fight. There's no time to plan." She met Kora's gaze evenly. "Let's go. I know how to get to the dwarves' cave."

Avalon had been getting tired of waiting around for Sahale, Kora, and even Calanon. It was late last night that she decided to sneak into the Elder's cave. It wasn't too long before she discovered Thana crying over Calanon attacking her. Something that Avalon clearly didn't believe, and of course Kane knew the truth, but he used it as a good excuse to hunt him down. After she had snuck away, she bumped into Faelon, who told her that there was a rumor going around that Calanon had gone to the dwarves' side of the cave through the labyrinth. Avalon hadn't thought Calanon would do something so reckless. A lot of vampires and elves had died going through that labyrinth; it was for the dwarves' protection and only they knew how to go through there.

With Faelon, she then made her way back into town and let herself into Kora's house. Relieved, she found that Kora's family was still alive and well, so she took it upon herself to write a note for Kora and Sahale, leaving her guns behind. She figured she would drop by a gun shop somewhere and pick up some better guns for herself.

Now having done all of these things, she was making her way to the dwarves' cave on their side of the mountain. She knew that Sahale had been there before and was well known. The dwarves had respect for her as she had battled with them countless times and had proven herself to be an honored leader. Avalon, however, had never been there, but she was still known to have relations with Sahale. Even more now as they were revolting against Kane's conspiracy.

"Avalon," a woman's voice called out.

"Who's there?" Avalon asked loudly, pulling out one of her small machine guns.

"Are ye looking for Calanon?" the voice asked. Avalon recognized the accent. It must have been a dwarf talking to her.

"Yes," she answered, lowering her gun slightly. "Can you take me to him?"

"Is Avalon coming too?" A female dwarf came out of the shadows nearby.

"Soon, I hope," Avalon answered, examining the woman. She was short, looking like a dwarf's wife. She had on an apron and a blue dress. Her hair was blonde, a hair color Avalon didn't see very often in this race. "It's already midday."

The dwarf nodded and gestured toward a path leading through the trees. "This way then."

"Where is Calanon now?" Avalon asked as they were entering the cave sometime later that afternoon.

"I hear the lad accepted a challenge from Bifrost. A well-known fighter, she is."

"When is that taking place?" Avalon wasn't surprised that Calanon had been challenged. She recalled as Sahale told her stories about the dwarves and their honor in fighting. That was how Sahale had become so popular with the dwarves after all.

"That was an hour before I found ye, so that must mean they are fighting now," the dwarf answered as she picked up a lantern and kept walking into the darker part of the cave.

Avalon followed, thinking about what the dwarf said. A few minutes later, as they came before the gate, she guessed, "So they must be fighting now."

"Nay. There is two hours preparation before the challenge begins." The dwarf that stood ready at the gate nodded and opened it.

"Two hours preparation?" Avalon asked, astonished. Who needed that long a time before a fight to prepare?

"Aye." The dwarf didn't say anything else as she set the lantern down and walked on. "I'll take ye to the arena to watch."

Now a half hour has passed and Calanon was entering the arena. Avalon had to sit in the back of the stands as the dwarves gave her looks. Some dirty, some wary, and some confused. She watched intently as the dwarf called Bifrost swung her massive sword at Calanon. It was surprising that her attacks were so fluent, considering the size of her weapon. Avalon considered how heavy that weapon was. Someone had luckily given Calanon a shield to use, which saved his life on several occasions. The dwarves around Avalon cheered. When they yelled, it sounded more like a battle cry, the same way Bifrost sounded when she hollered before swinging her sword once more.

However, Calanon wasn't so hopeless. He was able to make a few cuts here and there, and he finally made a good decision as he dodged an attack and countered by rolling forward and cutting her leg. Avalon found herself hollering with the rest of the crowd as if the excitement spread like a disease.

Suddenly the alarm sounded. Everything was quiet for several moments and a restless murmur spread throughout the crowd. Not a few minutes later, Kane and Thana, followed by a group of vampires entered.

What was being said couldn't be heard from where Avalon was sitting, but she reacted as soon as she saw the group enter. She popped up from her seat in the stands and rushed forward until a few dwarves stopped her at the front of the stands.

Kane stepped away from Calanon and turned away from him as he looked at the crowd in the stands, then at Bifrost. "This dwarf is being replaced by Thana!" he ordered.

A loud murmur erupted in the crowd. It was obvious that they protested the challenge being delayed and one of the opponents being replaced. That didn't stop Thana from screeching her own battle cry and running at Calanon, who wisely dodged the attack. Bifrost didn't like this either. She swung her own sword at Thana. Thana hissed and jumped back as the crowd cheered once again.

"What are you doing?" Thana yelled.

"Taking back my battle," Bifrost answered, her eyes narrowed.

Calanon took advantage of the situation and attacked Thana from behind, who in return hissed and barely moved in time to block his blade with her own short dagger. Calanon smirked at the woman. She had been too angry and careless to think about what she was getting herself into. Bifrost, on the other side of her, was swinging her sword once again. Thana rolled out of the way and Calanon jumped back, his eyes narrowing. Bifrost gave him a fierce look and he realized that she planned to fight against him as well as against Thana.

"Don't meddle in battles that do not belong to you," Thana hissed from where she knelt on the ground.

"I could say the same thing!" Bifrost growled as she swung once more.

"He was mine first!" Thana screeched, jumping out of the way of Bifrost's sword.

At first, Calanon wasn't sure what to do in the situation. He glanced at Kane. This was the perfect opportunity to end everything; he and Thana were both here, and from the looks of it, they had brought a mass of followers. They knew they were risking themselves by entering this place. Calanon was sick of them; he hated cowards. The two of them didn't have what it took to come here alone. They needed other bodies to protect themselves. He hoped that their followers realized this.

This concluded Calanon's decision. He ran at Thana as she was dodging another swing of Bifrost's sword. She was caught off guard, but he quickly swung his sword. It cut its way into her skin on her hip. She gasped, her eyes wide, and looked down where blood was now visible. "You…" she stammered. Calanon met her terrified gaze calmly with narrowed eyes.

"Say goodbye," he murmured. Her eyes widened further as she began to beg, but he ignored her and pulled his sword away. Thana dropped to her knees, eyes staring at the ground. Calanon swung his sword.


	11. Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

"This is it," Sahale said, pointing at the trail. "This leads to the dwarves' cave."

"You're sure?" Faelon asked. He had come with them as he was waiting for them outside of Kora's house.

"Positive," Sahale answered.

"Then let's go," Kora cut in, taking a few steps forward. "Avalon is waiting for us." Both of them shared a long look and nodded. The three started their journey down the path to the dwarves' cave.

It was only thirty minutes ago that Kora had followed Sahale out of the front door to her house. With her, she was carrying the guns Avalon had left for her. Somehow, she felt like Avalon cared for her more than she let on. The woman had checked on her family without being ordered, and she made sure to give Kora a way to defend herself. Although Kora did know how to kick box, she didn't think that would help against vampires. Guns, however, seemed to work. Otherwise Avalon would have never bothered to grab them. Unless she loaded them with silver bullets. Kora had examined them as they walked to the car.

"I want to go with you," a male's voice had interrupted her thoughts.

"Faelon," Kora murmured, blinking. "You're not with Sally."

"She'll be fine. None of the vampires are out."

Now that Kora thought about it, nobody had bothered to stop them from going into the house. It seemed like a normal day to her. She quickened her pace to catch up to Sahale and Faelon as they entered the cave.

"What do you think Avalon and Calanon are up to?" Kora asked after another moment of silence.

"Can't be too sure with the rumors that were going around in the cave," Faelon answered. "I spoke to her last night."

"Is that why you weren't with Sally this afternoon?" Sahale asked.

"Yes, and I was looking for you," Faelon answered, looking at her. "To tell you about the rumors."

Kora kept her hands folded in front of her as she listened to their conversation. It was reassuring to know that nobody was going to attack Sally today. She supposed that Faelon wouldn't have left if circumstances were different. Anyway, when he had found them, he explained the situation that Calanon might be in. Sahale had explained on the way to the cave that they were already on their way to the dwarves' cave because of a note that Avalon had left behind.

Now the three of them were standing in front of the gate. Immediately, the dwarf that stood guard there took notice of Sahale and let them in, giving a nod of respect. Kora felt his eyes on her back as they walked through. It made her feel uncomfortable.

A dwarf met them not long after they had passed through as they made their way to the market. "Sahale, it's good to see ye," a woman said. "Kane is here now."

Sahale looked alarmed and immediately picked up her pace. "Thank you," she said clearly as she strode on toward what Kora guessed was the arena.

"No!" Kane roared. "Thana!"

"What were you thinking, putting yourself in this situation?" Calanon looked back at the familiar voice. Sahale was standing there, just in front of the gate. Kora stood there with her, looking braver than he remembered her.

"Sahale!" Kane turned his angry eyes to her. "This is your fault!" he hissed.

"You did this to her," Sahale said calmly. "You brought her here."

Kane let out a frustrated roar and pulled his sword from his cane. "You die here!"

"I don't think so!" Avalon's voice rang out. The group in the arena looked just in time to see her jump down from the stands and land on her feet. She stood upright slowly, a smug expression on her face. Her smile was turned upward in a sick smile and her eyes were full of excitement. She drew her twin blades and ran at Kane directly, who in return blocked with his thin sword.

"Get out of my way!" Kane growled furiously through clenched teeth.

"Play with me," Avalon teased, sounding girly.

Calanon started to walk back to Sahale's side, but Kora yelled out to him, "Behind you, Calanon!"

Just in time he turned around with his shield and blocked another swing from Bifrost. For anyone else, they would think that this dwarf was crazy to want to continue the fight when there were enemies around, but Calanon understood. He looked at her fiercely as she met his gaze for a moment. Calanon understood that he would have to end her life to be rid of her. It wasn't harsh, but it was the only way she would accept losing. Sahale had made Calanon understand this before when he was younger. She'd always said that dwarves will keep fighting until they die, or they consider themselves to have no honor. They would think that they have tainted their ancestors; their family name was at stake. That's what was happening with Bifrost right now.

Kora and Sahale were suddenly surrounded by vampires. Sahale pulled out her sword and held it out as if it were a baseball bat as she gripped the hilt with both hands. Kora resorted to her dual pistols. She took a breath and pointed them at the vampires and pulled the triggers. One and then another; in that pattern, shots rang in the air. The vampires flew back as the bullets made contact. She'd actually shot one in the head. Sahale charged at a group of vampires and swung her sword, again in a fashion that reminded Kora of a baseball bat.

"Hey," Avalon called. "Don't run out of bullets so soon! Try hitting them next time you shoot!"

Kora's cheeks grew hot as she glared at Avalon. She knew that Avalon had a point, but she couldn't help but be embarrassed as there was a massive crowd around them. But there were suddenly more vampires flowing into the arena. So many that they were going to need backup. Sahale raised her sword then and shouted some kind of battle cry. The crowd that stood in the stands echoed that sound and beat on their chests with one fist. Kora looked around as they began dropping into the arena, already having their weapons at hand. The chaos was just beginning.

Calanon bent backward as Bifrost swung her sword. He had to flip backwards to avoid another swing. Her movements were becoming more fluent and her swings were much quicker. He barely had time to straighten himself and block with his shield as she thrust her sword at him. There was far too much chaos about them; too many people surrounding them. It created a hassle while trying to distance himself from his opponent. The length of her sword didn't help his situation either.

"Die!" Bifrost yelled as she thrust her sword again with much more power than the first time. Calanon grunted as he blocked again with the shield Lond had given him. However, to his surprise, he heard a loud crack. He jumped away and looked down at his shield. His eyes widened as he saw a thick line down the center of it with cracks to the sides of it. His shield was nearly finished, and when it was, he would be too.

For now, he was caught in the middle of the crowd, jumping away from her blade. The people about them didn't seem to care that they were there; they carried on with their own fights as they slaughtered one another. There were grunts and clangs around them. Battle cries filled the air at some moments and other times there were cries of agony as someone was stabbed or killed.

Calanon dodged another attack and rolled forward, standing abruptly, pulling his shield upward. It hit Bifrost in the chin. Her head went back as she grunted and Calanon took his chance. He thrust his sword into the dwarf's chest. "You can die with honor now," he murmured to her as he laid her on the ground.

She sputtered up blood, gazing at him. "You're a good, lad," she managed. "Win this war." Then she was gone. Calanon closed her eyes and rested her fist over her heart.

"Aye ye are," a familiar gruff voice interrupted.

Calanon looked up and stood. "Lond."

The dwarf nodded in respect before pounding his chest. "We fight!"

Calanon nodded and turned to face some of the people surrounding them. "We fight!" He raised his sword in the air before charging with his friend beside him into the mass of bodies.

Kane laughed as Avalon's blades were torn away from her hands. They flew and clattered to the ground nearby. Kane pointed his sword at her with a wicked grin. "Now you die, you pest!"

A grin spread across Avalon's face. Now was the perfect time to pull out her favorite guns, and that she did. "We'll see about that," she returned smugly. She aimed it at his heart. It was full of silver bullets, so it would be easy to kill him. Pressing her finger against the trigger, she smiled at him.

"No!" A vampire nearby ran in front of Kane, the bullet hitting him in the back. He coughed and spit up blood, turning to look at Avalon during his last few moments before he fell onto the ground. Another moment passed and he exploded, masses of blood and other things flew everywhere.

"Another death you're responsible for." Kane looked like he was disgusted with Avalon for killing someone who merely got in the way, when he had killed too many innocents to count.

"You've killed many more, Kane," Avalon shot back, glaring at him. Her hands clutched her gun.

"And that would have been your last," Sahale whispered from behind Kane. The man let out a sound of surprise and stepped away from her, his sword up.

"Leave this to me, Avalon," Sahale told her friend calmly.

"It's about time you fought your own battles," Kane spat. Avalon hesitated, but turned away and began shooting down enemies. However, she stayed nearby just in case something was to happen.

Sahale dodged Kane's blade and drew her own. "This fight won't last very long," she heard someone behind her murmur. It sounded to her like Faelon, but she wouldn't dare turn her back on her opponent; he was a dirty man. He had no levels; he was scum to her.

Together they stepped back and forth, from side to side, as if they were dancing. They parried against one another and swung their swords at each other. Within the first five minutes she had managed to slice his chest open, but he had also managed to cut her thigh. As blood ran down her leg, she limped slightly forward, thrusting her sword toward the man. He parried once more and sent her sword clattering to the floor. Her eyes widened slightly as he began to swing his sword. Quickly, and just in time, she bent backward. The blade barely brushed past her cheek as it cut a sliver of hair away.

Swiftly, Sahale pulled a dagger from her boot before pulling herself back up. She stood upright with the dagger out. Once again, their blades were clanging against each other. The noise around her seemed to disappear as Sahale focused on her opponent and how she would retrieve her sword. She couldn't go on much longer merely with her dagger or she might lose her arm in the least. Her eyes met Kane's for a moment. They looked wild, hungry, and insane with anger. There was a thirst for blood and vengeance that would never leave. Not until he was dead.

"Sahale!" Kora kicked the sword toward her friend and smiled. Sahale managed a smile back as she twirled to Kane's side. There she was able to drive her dagger into his back. There was a loud cry of agony as the blade cut first into his skin and a second later his spine.

Quickly, she picked her sword up and turned around once again, swinging it with full force. "This ends now!" she cried as the blade came into contact with his throat. It stopped short, however, as the spine stopped her blade. She tugged on her blade, trying to loosen it quickly.

"Sahale! No!" This time it was Calanon's voice. Sahale suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach. It tilted upward and another sharp pain came through her back. She blinked, coughing up a little blood, and looked up slowly at Kane. He was huffing, blood spurting and spilling from his throat, but he looked happy because he accomplished at least one thing. Sahale looked down at her stomach where his blade was stuck and coughed again. It seemed that they were holding each other up as they leaned against each other.

"Why?" She managed, choking.

Kane couldn't speak a word, but he met her eyes before his glazed over. The two of them fell over onto the ground. Sahale cried out as the pain increased. It hurt to breathe; like if she inhaled too much, nails would cut into her lungs, but it was the same way while exhaling as well. Her breaths came out short and ragged. She couldn't stop staring into Kane's now lifeless eyes. There was no more hatred or insanity there now. Just death.

She decided that she could deal with this. If this was the fate that had been decided for her, she would take it, so long as Kane wasn't there to threaten the natural life of the earth. She might have even smiled, but she couldn't be sure. Everything around her was blurry and the edges of her vision were black. She could hear a low murmur around her, but it was as if she were underwater, listening to those who were above. The pain was dulling as well; something she was thankful for. Thank you, she thought tiredly. Thank you, Calanon. Kora, Avalon…Faelon and everyone else. Thank you. Her vision slowly slipped away from her and she was floating in what seemed like a large, empty mass of darkness.

Is this what death is like? She heard her thoughts echo around her. They seemed to go on until they were too far away to be heard anymore. _Will I finally see you again…mother and father?_


	12. Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It was quite sudden, but a flash of light hit Sahale's eyes. She stared at it blankly. _Have you finally come for me? _She questioned, her thoughts echoing once more. However long she had been waiting, even a few moments felt like an eternity to her. She wasn't sure how long she had been dead, but she was sure everyone was missing her still. Absently, while she floated there staring at the white light, her hand rested over her stomach. The stab wound was no longer there, and she had no feeling of the pain. She closed her eyes. She would let the light engulf her so she would return home with her mother and father. They would be so happy to see her.

Through her eyelids, the bright light kept getting brighter. Suddenly she was breathing once again. _But why would I need air when I'm returning home?_ Sahale's eyes fluttered open. The bright light was still shining brightly on her face, but now it was irritating. She closed her eyes again, preferring the dark world she had before.

"Calanon." She heard a familiar voice echo around her. "Calanon, she's awake. They did it!"

_Kora_, Sahale remembered. _Why is she here?_

"Sahale." Another familiar voice echoed. "Sahale." Calanon.

With that final realization, it was as if she had been caught in an ocean, drowning. It was tossing her back onto the beach now, leaving her to cough and sputter, choking for air. Her arms reached out wildly, flailing.

Two warm, firm, soft hands grasped her wrists. "Sahale," Calanon said gently. Sahale's eyes fluttered open to the view of his beautiful, familiar face. Her breathing became normal after a few minutes of simply gazing into his eyes like he did with her. He was there to protect her and make sure that she lived. His being there was the only thing that she needed to stay calm.

"Calanon," she mumbled. "But how?" She looked around the room. Kora was standing beside the bed with her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself as she cried. Sahale reached out to her with one hand, but paused. She saw that Kora was smiling as she cried, obviously relieved. Sahale smiled back at her and rested against her new human friend. She had never thought that it would be possible, but it was happening now.

"We brought you to the hospital after the dwarves pulled the sword and patched you up," Avalon's choked voice answered from the side of the room. Sahale turned to her friend and smiled again. Now they were all embracing her as she sat on the patient's bed.

The doctor tapped on the door before he walked inside. "Good to see you're awake, Miss Sky, but you will need more rest." He gave the three visitors a look before he nodded toward the door. However, only Avalon and Kora left, glancing back at Sahale one last time.

"How long?" Sahale asked after a moment, placing her hand over her stomach.

"Only for a week," Calanon answered softly, placing his hand gently on her cheek. He had never acted this way with her. Sahale looked up into his eyes. "You should be fully recovered in a few more days, naturally. The doctors are baffled by your miraculous ability to heal faster than normal humans." He smiled a little, but sobered quickly. His thumb stroked her cheek a few times, giving Sahale a feeling that she hadn't felt since she was young.

"Calanon…" For the first time in ages and ages, she blushed. Slowly and cautiously, the young man that she had raised for so many years leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. His hand didn't move from her cheek. Sahale was surprised by her reaction, but she didn't argue with what she felt. She placed her hand on his cheek as well and kissed him back. For the few moments that their lips were touching, she could remember the sensation of love.


	13. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

A month had passed since the Kora was first kidnapped. Now she stood in front of the forest while holding onto a duffle bag. A lot had happened since they left the hospital with Sahale. She and Calanon were together as a happy couple, and Kora was visiting them regularly. Avalon also visited them regularly as she lived nearby in the forest. Sahale had also decided to take charge of the races. Most of them agreed, but the faeries split and left town. They haven't been seen since. Kane's followers were given a second chance, naturally, but those who disobeyed were ordered to death.

Surprisingly, Avalon became more active in the human community as she took over at the high school. She became the principal. Kora hardly believed it, but she honestly hoped that the woman would show some restraint when punishing the delinquents time and time again. It also turned out that her brother had developed a crush on "Miss Blair" and spent his time at home flirting with her when she stopped by. Kora only felt the need to throw up at every mention of his feelings for her. Besides, she was way too old for him.

Last of all, Kora was able to attend her boyfriend's funeral and hang out with her friends as she normally did. But something about her changed. She kept in mind the things that she had learned about each of the races. Thanks to these things, she became more aware of recycling, global warming, and other negative effects against nature that humans did. She also did everything she could to save the rest of the forest that was supposed to be torn away. It also happened to be the same part of the forest that the elves lived in. They were thankful for her actions and she became a friend to their community, as well as the dwarves for her bravery through everything, and even the vampires as they admired her strength and how cocky she was. After the worst week of her life, things were looking up for her once again. She was accepted into college in the next town and was able to get a job. She was also becoming closer to Faelon, who by chance happened to be around her age. He was there to support her and reminded her of Michael in a lot of ways. This truly was a happy ending, and it was all thanks to these people that nobody would have ever thought to be any sort of heroic group.


End file.
